Nikita Tszyu’s wedding reveal as comeback clouded by surgery

Nikita Tszyu has cleared up confusion around his wedding earlier this year amid delay to his recovery from hand surgery that will likely push his return to the boxing ring back to the middle of the year.

Nikita Tszyu’s return to the ring is likely to be pushed back until June or July as he continues his recovery from hand surgery.

The offbeat younger brother of Tim Tszyu does have some positive ring-related news though, confirming he got married over the summer.

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He has even revealed he handcrafted the wedding rings himself.

Yes, you read that right.

The Tszyu brothers’ manager, Glen Jennings’ favourite way to describe the difference between them is that Tim lives in a penthouse, while Nikita lives in a treehouse – a treehouse he probably made himself.

So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the 27-year-old also made his own set of wedding bands.

There was widespread confusion over whether the intensely private Nikita had actually tied the knot, with only a select few people aware of the January nuptials.

Even older brother Tim – who married his longtime partner Alex in a lavish ceremony in December – was reluctant to speak about Nikita’s wedding.

Nikita and Tim Tszyu. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

‘The Butcher’ has barely been seen in public over the past six months, but opened up about his marriage to this masthead.

“Yeah, I did,” he said when asked outright if he’d gotten hitched. “And I made the rings myself.

“I melted the silver and made it in my garage. I forged it myself.

“I did my ring and her ring. I had to do about 10 different rings because I had to shape it and everything.”

It shouldn’t come as a shock that he made his own wedding rings.

In conversations with this masthead, Tszyu has spoken about building his own bed, making a skate ramp in his backyard and crafting a rocking chair in his garage.

“I learned the art form, or how to do it in a weekend and I got the rings created in two more days,” he said.

“I’m a smelter now.”

Tszyu has barely been seen since his win over Koen Mazoudier last August. Picture: No Limit Boxing

There’s no mention of his wedding on his social media pages, and Tszyu has only posted to Instagram once since August last year.

Just the way he likes it.

“I’ve been a vampire, hiding in the shadows and enjoying myself,” he said. “I’ve been training since November full-time, I just haven’t felt the need to get on social media.

“I really enjoy a life away from it.”

Tszyu is unsure about his boxing comeback after undergoing surgery to fix a chipped bone and two tendons in his right hand following his win over Koen Mazoudier in August.

“It’s been taking longer than we anticipated,” he said. “Don’t have any set dates, can’t even give a prediction on when it would be fully ready, but we’re getting there.

“We’re getting close.”

Jennings said he hoped ‘The Butcher’ will be back in June or July, and raised the possibility of a fight with Michael Zerafa.

“If Zerafa does get an opportunity to fight a Tszyu, it’ll be Nikita,” he told this masthead. “Next fight or some fight in 2025.

“We just don’t know enough yet.”

Nikita earned a huge amount of respect in boxing circles when he threw the towel in to stop Tim from taking more punishment from Bakhram Murtazaliev in Orlando in October.

Jeff Fenech, Jonny Lewis and Barry Michael all argued Nikita should be added to Tim’s corner, but the younger brother doesn’t know whether he’ll get another call up.

“I don’t know – if I get invited,” he said. “If I get invited, I get invited, but if not, I won’t have a sook about it.”

Originally published as Nikita Tszyu’s wedding reveal as comeback clouded by surgery