Why Tim Tszyu turned off the Rocky path

The wake-up call that made rising star Tim Tszyu change his preparations for fights.

Tim Tszyu and Dennis Hogan face-off ahead of Wednesday night's Steel City Boxing Showdown Picture: NCA NewsWire / Peter Lorimer.

Tim Tszyu has ditched his 5am runs … because they were making him sleepy on fight nights.

Pounding the pavement before the birds had broken into their pre-dawn song had always seemed emblematic of Tszyu’s dedication. He didn’t have to do his Rocky Balboa-style runs at that ungodly time. He wasn’t a race horse being ordered out of the barn by a trainer.

Setting his alarm clock for sparrow’s carried the message that he was prepared to punish himself, challenge himself, get to work while the rest of the world slept. But when it came time to step into the ring for late evening bouts like the one against Dennis “The Hurricane” Hogan at Newcastle Entertainment Centre on Wednesday night, he was ready for a nap.

“I listen to my body now,” Tszyu told News Corp.

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“I still train non-stop. It’s just that I start a little later than it used to. I get up at around six-thirty instead of four-thirty. It’s due to the fact I usually fight at about 10pm. I don’t want to be going to sleep then. I don’t want my body to feel like it’s ready for sleep when it’s meant to be peaking. That was happening in the past. There was one fight, the Dwight Ritchie fight, when I was doing my 5am runs. It got to 10pm and I was starting to yawn. I was like, man, I can be smarter than this. I was ready for sleep. I kept doing them but now I don’t. The 5am runs are finished.”

You snooze, you lose? Has he softened? Tszyu has gained nationwide popularity. He’s making huge money for a young fella. You should see the car he gets around in. He’s hardly fighting his way out of skid row; he’s already busted his backside for the success he’s had.

Who could blame a 26-year-old for taking things easier? Tszyu emphatically denied the later start to his days equated to a loss of hunger. “I can do the exact same run at 7am,” he said. “I just needed to get my body tuned in to certain times of day and more to the point, the night. Do I still have the same hunger? Believe me, I’ve got more.”

Tszyu and Dennis “The Hurricane” Hogan had their first face-off on Monday at the Newcastle Museum. An enjoyable song-and-dance, it was. You’re a bum. No, you’re a bum. That sort of stuff. Hogan wore a silver suit. He had to turn his T-shirt inside out because his personal betting sponsor was at odds with the company aligned to the fight. He wore flash shoes and had an uppity bow-legged strut. He always seems to be grinning or smirking – he’s quite the jolly chap when he’s not trying to knock someone’s block off.

Tszyu arrived in the nick of time for their Steel City Showdown press conference. One mate asked me, “What else is there to say?” He wasn’t half wrong but the verbals would prove to be half-decent. Tszyu was grinning and relaxed and almost slouching in his chair until Hogan’s manager, Danny Dimas, made him sit bolt upright by suggesting a less than fully prepared Hogan could still beat Tszyu.

“They’re obviously a bit scared of Tim losing because in the contract, they’ve asked for a rematch,” Dimas said. “Why would you ask for a rematch unless you thought you were going to lose? Dennis at 80 per cent would beat Tszyu on Wednesday night. They’re two different classes, completely. Dennis has fought people twice as good as Tim. It’s a tune-up fight for the next big thing for us. If you’re a betting person, I’d be betting on Dennis. Go to Pointsbet, get on there, you’ll make some easy money this Wednesday night.”

Everyone had a chuckle because Pointsbet was the betting company Hogan was not allowed to promote because No Limit Boxing signed TAB Sportsbet for the fight. No Limit’s George Rose chipped in with: “Personally, I’d use Sportsbet, it’s the best agency …” Which was all a bit of unimportant waffle before Tszyu’s manager, Glen Jennings, said: “Tim Tszyu’s the real deal. There’s no hype train. It’s real. It’s only hype if it’s not real. This young bloke next to me is real and they’re going to find out on Wednesday night just how real he is.”

The press conference ended with Tszyu instigating a hearty handshake before a great face-off that might still be going if the museum was still open. Hogan, the tough 36-year-old Brisbane-based Irishman who’s twice unsuccessfully fought for world titles, was asked if the hype around Tszyu was warranted? “The answer to that question will be on Wednesday night because he’s about to fight the real deal. I am the real deal. I’ve had a proper camp, I’m hungry as a mother … er – we will know on Wednesday the answer to that question. I just cannot see it happening in Tim’s favour. I really do think I can hurt him and if the opportunity presents itself, I’ll go for it.”

Tszyu was restrained throughout. He only became a little prickly at being called a tune-up fight for Hogan’s next world title bid. On whether he was offended, he said: “You tell me. What do you reckon? I don’t think it’s going to be a warm-up fight. It’s going to be a tough fight. I don’t make fights easy. When I get in the ring, I’m not there to tick and tack and run around and jab and throw a few overhands. I’m here to hurt my opponents. It’s not going to be a warm-up fight. I’m expecting the best Dennis Hogan. He’s a great fighter. I’ve got no disrespect to him. He trains like a fighter, looks after his family, I have all respect for that. But when you get in the ring, this is my ring. This is my world and I’m not going to let anyone out. I’m here to do damage. It won’t go 12 rounds. It’s going to be stopped. I’m 100 per cent certain.”