Keith Thurman calls out “big kangaroo” Tim Tszyu for blockbuster after Brock Jarvis beatdown

Keith Thurman has officially called out Tim Tszyu and plans on returning to Australia to beat “the big kangaroo” after knocking out Brock Jarvis on March 12.

Tim Tszyu and Keith Thurman in commentary with Ben Damon. Picture: Scott Davis / Ace Boxing

Keith Thurman has officially called out Tim Tszyu and plans on returning to Australia to beat “the big kangaroo” after knocking out Brock Jarvis on March 12.

The big-talking Thurman, who jetted into Australia on Friday morning, was initially scheduled to fight Tszyu in the Aussie’s American debut last March but was forced out through injury.

He’ll instead face Jarvis in his first fight in three years, but says Tszyu is the ultimate goal.

“That’s what we’re here for. Brock is the little kangaroo, I’m here for the big kangaroo,” Thurman told this masthead, before showing off his kangaroo-themed tie.

Keith Thurman and Tim Tszyu in commentary. Picture: Scott Davis / Ace Boxing

“You see the suit and you see the tie. We came for the kangaroos.

“There was a big opportunity last year that slipped away from me. Now I’m in Australia. He (Tszyu) came to me, now I’m coming to you.

“This means Thurman doesn’t run, I came here to have my fight with Brock Jarvis. We get that victory and I would love to get back in the ring with Tim Tszyu.”

Keith Thurman's kangaroo tie. Picture: Brendan Bradford

Tszyu has banned his team from talking about future fights until after his comeback against Joey Spencer on April 9, but his manager Glen Jennings confirmed Thurman “is on the shortlist.”

“I have my comeback fight, he has his comeback fight coming up soon,” the former two-time world champion Thurman said. “The world wants to know how I perform, and the world is interested to see how he performs – not just in Australia, but all over the world.

“I would love to still make this fight happen, I wish Tim Tszyu the best of luck.”

Thurman’s injury signalled the start of a rough run for Tszyu, with ‘The Soul Taker’ losing a bloody split decision to Sebastian Fundora, before being knocked out by Bakhram Murtazaliev.

Tim Tszyu and Keith Thurman in commentary. Picture: Scott Davis / Ace Boxing

Thurman commentated the Murtazaliev fight, and the pair met face-to-face again on Saturday when they shared commentary duties on the undercard of Liam Wilson’s rematch with Youssef Dib in Brisbane on Saturday night.

Never short of an opinion, Thurman placed the blame at Tszyu’s team, and revealed that the Aussie possibly overtrained for the Murtazaliev fight.

“I think his team didn’t make a lot of smart decisions,” he said.

“They could’ve gotten him a fight that re-integrates Tim Tszyu into boxing and show why Americans should want to watch him fight.

“Instead he took the toughest fight he could, against a guy (Murtazaliev) with a completely different style than the one he was up against before.

Mario Barrios (L) takes a right from Keith Thurman during a welterweight bout. Picture: Getty Images

“When I interviewed Tim Tszyu a week before the fight, he told me about his training camp, and it was the longest training camp I’ve ever heard of.

“I believe he might’ve suffered some overtraining.”

Thurman also said he spotted gaps in Tszyu’s fight style.

“Talking to him personally, he might’ve overlooked (Murtazaliev),” he said. “He tried to walk through him, but ran into some devastating left hooks early on that puzzled him.

“He didn’t have the boxing style to recover and get into the later rounds and hold on.

“He doesn’t have the patience. His answer was to fight and keep fighting and that just put him in more danger because his wits weren’t all there.

“The champion was smarter and sharp and was able to land those punches when Tim Tszyu wasn’t making the best decisions.”

Originally published as Keith Thurman calls out “big kangaroo” Tim Tszyu for blockbuster after Brock Jarvis beatdown