What makes a world champion? Long time Tszyu ally breaks down the seven things that make Tim

Long-serving manager and ally of the Tszyus, Glen Jennings analyses the anatomy of Tim Tszyu and pinpoints the seven things that put him ahead of rest on the eve of his title fight on Sunday.

Tim Tszyu will become Australia’s richest ever boxer and has been rated the closest thing to a perfect fighting machine ahead of his world-title blockbuster against Sebastian Fundora on Sunday.

That’s the view of long-serving manager Glen Jennings, a trusted figure in the rise of Kostya Tszyu who has also helped mastermind son Tim’s emergence from Sydney rookie to world champion pugilist poised for his Las Vegas debut.

Tszyu v Fundora + Zerafa v Lara LIVE from Las Vegas | SUN 31 MAR 11AM AEDT | Exclusive to Main Event, order on Kayo Sports. No Kayo subscription needed.

On the eve of the ‘Soul Taker’s’ historic main event against Fundora at Sin City’s T-Mobile Arena, Jennings - who has had a 30-year affiliation with the Tszyu family - gave an insight into why the son of Kostya remains unbeaten with a 24-0 record.

Here’s the ‘Seven Wonders’: an anatomy of a world champion as Tszyu chases a 25th consecutive victory and launch stage one of his American takeover.

Tim Tszyu’s fight IQ is “underrated”.

BRAIN POWER

“Tim’s boxing IQ is very underrated,” Jennings said.

“Whilst he doesn’t talk about it a lot, he is absolutely top of his game with his boxing intelligence and I’m sure that’s part of the DNA that comes from his dad.

“Tim is a student of the game.

“He knows when he goes into a fight exactly what’s in front of him, the good, the bad and the ugly.”

What’s Tszyu’s biggest strength? Picture: Getty Images

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

“Tim’s eye is unparalleled,” Jennings said.

“Tim is very good at feeling out an opponent early. He studies, analyses and learns quickly. He makes judgment calls in an instant and very rarely is he wrong in the ring under pressure.

“The ability to adapt, to see what his rival is bringing, to program and deal with the data ... he learns all of that in the first round and then he takes action.

“Very few fighters, I believe, have Tim’s eye and decision-making ability. He has got it in spades.”

Tszyu looks in great shape ahead of Sunday’s fight. Picture: Getty Images

MUSCLE MAN

Tszyu will never boast about it publicly, but in sparring he has dropped light heavyweights some 10-15 kilograms heavier. He has the punching power to shock an opponent into retreat, and ultimately defeat, just as he did against Tony Harrison last year. Tszyu’s big right-hand bomb in the third round sent Harrison flying back almost a metre.

“Physically, he has developed into a very big ‘154’ (super welterweight),” Jennings said.

“He is about as muscled up as you want to be without being cumbersome.

“He has managed to maintain this unbelievable agility while being built like a brick shithouse.

“With that comes power and if you put Fundora alongside Tim Tszyu without a shirt on, it’s chalk and cheese.

“You know full well when Tim Tszyu cracks you, you get hit. His straight right is deadly and his left rip is just mortifying if he gets you.

“We have had Tim on a strength-and-conditioning program for about three years with Dave Barker and we are now seeing the end results of that.

“That muscle conditioning comes from non-stop training, Tim is the most active boxer in the world.

“The power is there. Combine it with his boxing IQ and you have a serious fighter.”

Tim Tszyu just keeps going. Picture: Getty Images

V8 ENGINE

“Tim’s fitness breaks opponents,” Jennings said.

“He has a massive engine. Tim will often spar 14 and 15 rounds in training, doing three-and-a-half minute rounds with a 30-second break, you have a V8 engine churning away. That’s Tim Tszyu.

“When you look at who he has fought and there have been some big punchers, they have tested his chin, his ribs and everything else and he has come through.

“He comes through it because of his heart and conditioning.

“Until the day comes that someone takes care of Tim, then you can’t deny his heart.

“You can only be tested in the ring as to how good your chin is and how good your ability to endure is, you can’t do it in sparring.

“In his fights, Tony Harrison unleashed bombs on Tim, so did (Terrell) Gausha and Brian Mendoza, and Tim just passed every test.

“He has the ability to fend off the best can throw at him.”

FOOTLOOSE

“Tim has always had a great feel for the ring with his movement,” Jennings said.

“Even in the amateurs, his balance, his timing and distance are his core strengths that have placed him where he is today, there is no doubt.

“His uncle and coach, Igor (Goloubev), knows he has a fighter who has unbelievable balance and footwork, but more importantly understanding those parameters.”

Who wins on Sunday?

KEEP CALM ... UNDER PRESSURE

“The Tim Tszyu you see today is a very mature fighter,” he said.

“He has a degree of calmness and confidence that has grown with each fight and that comes from a lot of things, it comes mainly from stability.

“Every time he goes into the ring, he doesn’t think of anything but his craft and what’s in front of him.

“There is a maturity now in Tim that is scary. You saw it against Mendoza, he was stone-faced and there was no emotion. Nothing distracts him from the job at hand.

“A bomb could go off in the ring on Sunday and Tim would be unfazed.

“His emotional intelligence is first-class.”

His work ethic is unmatched. Picture: Getty Images

HUNGER GAMES

“His work ethic is as good as it gets,” Jennings said.

“No-one in world boxing works harder than him. He is robotic. He is machine-like, his dad was the same and Nikita (Tim’s younger brother) is coming down that road as well. There is a DNA running through the Tszyu family that is different to others.

“People say Tim’s defence isn’t great, but he has never been knocked out or stopped. Talk is cheap, so go with fact.

“I think Tim Tszyu can be the highest-paid boxer we have ever seen in Australian boxing history.

“There is no perfect boxer, they don’t all have it at 100 per cent, but Tim is the closest thing I have seen to a complete fighter.”

Originally published as What makes a world champion? Long time Tszyu ally breaks down the seven things that make Tim