‘Good chance of an upset’: Daniel Lewis is the only man to beat Tim Tszyu, and also fought Sebastian Fundora
The only man to ever beat Tim Tszyu, and one of only a few boxers who have fought Tszyu and Fundora, has his say in a rare exclusive interview.
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Daniel Lewis – the only man to ever beat Tim Tszyu – is tipping Sebastian Fundora to cause a monumental upset in Las Vegas this weekend.
Lewis handed Tszyu his only ever loss in the amateurs in 2011, before representing Australia at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
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.
He’s also one of only a handful of fighters who have stepped into the ring with both Tszyu and Fundora, after losing a decision to ‘The Towering Inferno’ on the undercard to Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder’s second fight in 2020.
“I reckon Fundora can win, definitely, he can win,” Lewis, who hasn’t fought since that loss to Fundora, told this masthead in a rare interview.
“It’s gonna be Tim’s toughest fight. Keith Thurman hadn’t fought in ages and was coming up in weight, but Fundora’s young, active and he’s gonna be tough.
“Fundora’s got a really good chance for an upset.”
There’s been tension between Lewis and the Tszyu camp ever since a controversial series of amateur bouts in 2011, with Lewis adamant he was ripped off.
“I’m the only one to beat Tim,” Lewis said. “I fought him three times in the amateurs, and twice was in Sans Souci – his hometown – and twice he got the decision.
“The first fight was a Saturday and after the fight, everyone was booing because they knew I’d won, so we protested.
“We fought again the next day, and the same thing happened. It was his hometown, but everyone was booing because they knew I won.
“Boxing Australia bought me down to the Australian titles as a wildcard because they could tell it wasn’t in my favour, and I’d been ripped off.
“I went down there, and with judges from all over the state, I beat him fair and square.
“But I know I beat him all three times.
“After I beat him, he went missing, did whatever he did for a couple of years, and then went pro.”
The animosity ramped up nine years later when their respective camps were negotiating what would have been a mouth-watering domestic showdown.
“I always wanted to fight him, but it never came about,” Lewis said. “We were going back and forth, then Covid hit and I started working again.
“He was coming off the win over Jeff Horn, and I was just sitting on the back of an excavator and wasn’t really training.
“We couldn’t agree on dates, and I just said, ‘if you don’t give me an answer by this date, forget it’, and that’s what happened.”
Lewis walked away from the sport entirely, deleted his social media accounts, and is currently working in Victoria.
His last fight was the defeat to Fundora four years ago.
The former Olympian rattled Fundora early on in their 10-round bout, and warned Tszyu that the Californian is much tougher than he’s being given credit for.
“I busted his nose and hurt him in the second round, but just didn’t get him clean enough and couldn’t finish him,” Lewis said. “It’s hard to work him out, because he tries to fight on the inside, which was my tactic.
“He’s tougher than I thought he was going to be. He can take a shot and can fight on the inside.
“Everything Tim’s saying now, I was saying back then – go to the body and break him.
“And Tim’s sparring the same guy I was sparring (Ardreal Holmes). It’s almost like a flashback, but it’s a tough fight for Tim.
“Fundora doesn’t look tough, but he is, and he can punch hard.”
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