The secret weapon in Tim Tszyu’s cutman’s kitbag to prevent another bloodbath in Fundora rematch

It was the gruesome head gash that cost Tim Tszyu his world title. Now Tszyu goes into his rematch with Sebastian Fundora armed with a product once banned in Australia.

Tim Tszyu’s camp have taken the drastic step of buying a product once banned in Australia to ensure he does not suffer another corner catastrophe in Sunday’s world-title blockbuster against Sebastian Fundora.

This masthead can reveal Tszyu’s underfire cutman Mark Gambin has purchased a revolutionary bandage, often used to treat snake bites, to protect Tszyu from another bloodbath in his rematch with Fundora in Las Vegas.

The development comes as it emerged Tszyu privately told his team he wanted “someone to save me” as a “fountain” of blood poured from his head in his split-decision loss to Fundora 16 months ago.

There were calls for Gambin to be sacked as cutman and Team Tszyu later held a crisis meeting as they sifted through the wreckage of the first loss of the Sydneysider’s career.

Tszyu stayed loyal to Gambin. Now the underfire cutman, a former boxing trainer with NRL side Cronulla, has beefed-up his kit bag with an all-natural, multi-purpose bandage that could save Tszyu’s career on Sunday.

Tszyu’s cutman Mark Gambin (left) has added a secret weapon to his kitbag for Sunday’s world-title rematch. Picture: Supplied

Known as ‘Qwick Aid’, the two-layered bandage has been hailed by legendary cutman ‘Stitch’ Duran as a “game changer” in boxing.

The first layer arrests bleeding in 45 seconds by creating a clot at the cut site to block further blood flow, with Gambin determined to cover every base in the event Tszyu cops another stray elbow from Fundora on Sunday.

While the bandage cannot be bought in Australia, it contains no substances that breach WADA’s anti-doping rules and has been approved by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

Australian boxing authorities first approved the product in 2018 for Jeff Horn’s fight against Anthony Mundine.

Gambin has also added larger, medical-grade cotton swabs after the former world champion’s shocking head gash, which required 10 stitches, triggered a full-scale review of Team Tszyu’s corner and operations.

“I’ve added some Qwick Aid bandages for this fight,” Gambin confirmed on the eve of Tszyu-Fundora II at MGM Grand.

“They are so popular now in boxing they are always sold out, but I managed to buy some online in America.

Team Tszyu held a crisis meeting following Tszyu’s loss to Sebastian Fundora. Picture: Supplied

“It’s remarkable how well they work at stopping blood flow.

“Hopefully we won’t be needing them on Sunday, but after what happened last year, I’m fully prepared and leaving no stone unturned.”

Tszyu suffered the massive cut at the end of the second round.

Well-placed sources say that after the loss to Fundora, Tszyu told his team he was hoping someone would make a definitive call on the wound.

Had the fight been stopped after four rounds, when the three judges’ scorecards were all locked at 38-all, the bout would have been declared a draw and Tszyu would have retained his WBO world title.

Tszyu told this masthead on Thursday that he lost composure as his corner struggled to deal with the cut.

“The corner where you have that minute to relax, it was chaos for me, rather than peace,” he said.

“The doctor said, ‘Can you see?’ and I said, ‘Of course I can see’. I’m not going to be the type of guy who says, ‘No doctor, I can’t see’ ... if I say that, then the fight is going to be stopped and I lose.

“I was doing stuff out of emotion and not with my brain and throwing stupid haymaker shots.

“I was thinking how am I going to protect this cut.

“This time, everyone needs to improve and I’m a loyal guy who puts trust in my team.

“I won’t even worry about my cutman because I don’t intend to use him.”

Tszyu’s corner came under fire for failing to stop his cut against Fundora. Picture: Supplied

Tszyu’s manager Glen Jennings is confident there will no fresh corner crisis after some candid meetings involving trainer Igor Goloubev, who will be calling the shots again on Sunday.

“We had one big serious get-together,” Jennings said.

“We conducted it as a full review of everything that we’d done and everyone was held accountable.

“Everyone had the opportunity to talk and it was the best thing we’d ever done, because what came out of it was that everybody was hurting.

“Tim said we have to be better in everything we do at this level and we’ve all taken ownership.

“Hopefully we get the result on Sunday and Tim comes home as a two-time world champion.”

Originally published as The secret weapon in Tim Tszyu’s cutman’s kitbag to prevent another bloodbath in Fundora rematch