Notebook: 154-pound contender Tim Tszyu arrives in U.S. with big plans, lofty goals

DAZN show goes on with new main event and new foe for McKinson; Ortiz out of hospital; Mayer-Han card set; Quick hits; Show and tell

Mar 17, 2022

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Australian junior middleweight contender Tim Tszyu has arrived in America, ready to serve notice on these shores that he is a force to be reckoned with.

Tszyu, the WBO mandatory challenger, has arrived well ahead of his United States debut, which will come against former world title challenger and 2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha in the main event of a Showtime tripleheader on March 26 (9 p.m. ET) at The Armory in Minneapolis.

“I have come to America with big visions of taking over the whole division and becoming the next great 154-pound champion of the world,” said Tszyu, who is one of the fighting sons of Hall of Famer and former undisputed junior welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu.

He aims to follow in his father’s footsteps. Kostya Tszyu, who boxed from 1992 to 2005 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011, had his biggest wins in the U.S., knocking out opponents such as Zab Judah to become the undisputed champion — on Showtime — Sharmba Mitchell twice, Rafael Ruelas, Miguel Angel Gonzalez and an aging Julio Cesar Chavez.

“To become a legend, you must come to America at some point in your career and leave a mark on the sport,” Tim Tszyu said. “I want to continue my family's legacy in boxing, as well as forge my own journey. March 26 is the start of my era.”

Tszyu (20-0, 15 KOs), 27, is finishing his training camp in Las Vegas at Floyd Mayweather’s gym and aiming for an impressive win over Gausha (22-2-1, 11 KOs), 34, of Encino, California, whose only losses were by decision to Erislandy Lara in a 2017 world title bout and Erickson Lubin in 2020.

“I respect my opponent,” Tszyu said. “He has a world-class amateur pedigree, and has fought at the championship level. I feel that facing someone like Gausha, who is coming off a big win (a second-round knockout of Jamontay Clark last March), makes for a great fight. This will be my Showtime debut, and I am looking to not just be the best, but to also be the face of the network. I want to follow in the footsteps of my father, and one day be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.”

A win over Gausha will keep Tszyu in the mandatory position for the next shot at the winner of the rematch for the undisputed title between three-belt titlist Jermell Charlo and WBO titleholder Brian Castano. That fight headlines a Showtime card on May 14 in Los Angeles.

“We are ready to take the next step in Tim’s career as we have had amazing success back home, but we want to show the whole world what he is capable of, and what better place than America for that,” said Igor Goloubev, Tszyu's trainer. “I know that he has the ability of a Hall of Fame fighter. Now we must prove it. 2022 will be a great year for us and we look forward to the journey fighting here in the U.S."

Promoter George Rose of No Limit Boxing, which represents Tszyu, said they plan to have Tszyu fight in America regularly.

“We have big plans for Tim Tszyu to really make a name for himself here in the United States,” Rose said. “A great performance on Showtime will be the start of something special for our fighter, who we believe will be the next superstar in boxing.”

The show goes on

Welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. is out of the hospital after being admitted and staying overnight Monday after he was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis and forced to pull out of his 12-round main event against Michael McKinson scheduled for Saturday night on a Golden Boy card on DAZN at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

But the show goes. The 10-round welterweight co-feature between southpaws Alexis Rocha (18-1, 12 KOs), 24, of Santa Ana, California, and Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (15-0-1, 10 KOs), 32, of Las Vegas, was elevated to the main event position on Wednesday.

McKinson (21-0, 2 KOs), 27, a southpaw from England, who has been in Los Angeles for nearly two weeks and was anxious to fight, will remain on the card and drop down the co-feature and face late replacement Jesus Antonio Perez (24-3, 18 KOs), 24, of Mexico, in a 10-rounder.

Golden Boy attempted to match both Rocha and Cobbs with McKinson, but his team — Matchroom Boxing and MTK — did not want him to have to switch to facing a southpaw on a few days’ notice, a source involved in the event told Fight Freaks Unite.

Ortiz (18-0, 18 KOs), 23, of Grand Prairie, Texas, explained what happened via social media.

“First and foremost I am very sorry and disappointed to not be fighting this Saturday. Camp was going great,” Ortiz wrote. “I was doing very good in sparring and training in general. But for the last two weeks I didn't feel like myself. I just felt like my body was deteriorating and I didn't know why and it was frustrating. Being the fighter that I am I tried toughing it out, but when it’s your own body fighting against you there’s little you can do. Luckily my dad (and trainer Vergil Ortiz Sr.) was able to tell I wasn’t right and took me to the doctor. We ran some tests and the doctor concluded that I had rhabdomyolysis.”

Rhabdomyolysis, commonly known as rhabdo, is serious and occurs when damaged muscle tissue releases its proteins and electrolytes into the blood. It can damage the heart and kidneys and in the most severe cases cause death.

“I was hospitalized and had to stay overnight,” Ortiz wrote. “It could’ve been a lot worse and I'm thankful that we caught it on time. I am very sorry if I let you guys down. Believe me if there was a hair of a chance of me fighting, I would be. And, of course, sorry to Michael McKinson. I’m sure you trained your ass off. We’re just fighting trying to provide for our family. I hope you still get the chance fight.”

McKinson responded to Ortiz on social media when he learned the fight was off.

“I am gutted,” McKinson wrote on Tuesday night. “I’d like to firstly wish Vergil Ortiz a speedy recovery. I have UK fans travelling out, and I’ve worked so hard. So a replacement is now all down to Golden Boy, Matchroom and MTK Global.”

Golden Boy announced that if fans who purchased tickets through the Galen Center, online or in person, do not wish to attend Rocha-Cobbs refund requests made by Saturday at 3 p.m. PT will be honored.

Showtime Boxing Podcast

I joined longtime pals Eric Raskin and Kieran Mulvaney on this week’s Showtime Boxing Podcast to discuss several topics, including Canelo Alvarez’s decision to pick the Matchroom Boxing/DAZN deal over the PBC/Showtime offer, the upcoming Errol Spence Jr.-Yordenis Ugas fight, the impending American debut of junior middleweight contender Tim Tszyu, the recent dazzling performance from all-time great Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Raskin ruined my week with a very hard question about my memorabilia collection. Listen here (my section begins at 28 minutes into the episode): https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/showtime-boxing?selected=CBS2225002850

Top Rank sets Mayer-Han card

Unified women’s junior lightweight world titlist Mikaela Mayer will defend her belts on April 9 (ESPN/ESPN Deportes/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET) against former featherweight titlist Jennifer Han at The Hangar in Costa Mesa, California, on a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card, Top Rank announced.

“Mikaela is on her way to fully unifying the division, and she has a big opportunity to make a statement in front of her home fans,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said.

Mayer (16-0, 5 KOs), 31, of Los Angeles, unified the IBF and WBO belts outpointing Maiva Hamadouche in an all-out slugfest on Nov. 5.

“Big props to Jennifer Han for taking this fight,” Mayer said. “Everyone knows I have been in pursuit of undisputed, but since the other two champs are being reserved for each other, I had to look elsewhere to stay busy. Han stepped up. I believe I separated myself in my last fight against Hamadouche by displaying my versatility, and I want to continue to do that. I want to show that I can adapt to any style and that I am the most well rounded boxer out there.”

Han (18-4-1, 1 KO), 38, of El Paso, is coming off a shutout decision loss in which she was knocked down challenging undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor this past September.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to headline against Mikaela Mayer,” Han said. “Women’s boxing is finally getting the recognition and the platform that we deserve.”

In the 10-round co-feature, welterweight Giovani Santillan (28-0, 15 KOs), 30, a southpaw from San Diego, will fight Jeovanis Barraza (23-2, 15 KOs), 26, of Colombia.

In preliminary bouts that will stream only on ESPN+, bantamweight Jason Moloney (22-2, 18 KOs) and junior bantamweight Andrew Moloney (22-2, 14 KOs), 31-year-old twins and former world title challengers from Australia, will face opponents to be named. Jason will box in a 10-rounder and Andrew in an eight-rounder.

Also, featherweight Luis Alberto Lopez (24-2, 13 KOs), 28, of Mexico, who became the IBF’s mandatory challenger with a seventh-round knockout of Isaac Lowe in December, will be in an eight-round bout and U.S. Olympic silver medalist Duke Ragan (4-0, 1 KO), 24, of Cincinnati, whose pro return following this past summer’s Tokyo Games was delayed due to injuries and the death of his father, will compete in a six-round featherweight bout. Fellow 2020 U.S. Olympian Virginia Fuchs will make her pro debut in a six-round flyweight fight.

Quick hits

The purse bid for the fight between WBA “regular” heavyweight titlist Trevor Bryan (22-0, 15 KOs) and mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois (17-1, 16 KOs), which was scheduled for Monday, was postponed until March 21 for reasons related to Bryan’s side, the WBA announced. The camps could still make a deal but if they don’t the purse bid will be held via video conference. Minimum bid is $1 million. Bryan gets 55 percent of the winning bid and Dubois 45 percent.

Lightweight prospect and 2020 U.S. Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis’s eight-rounder against Esteban Sanchez (18-1, 8 KOs), 23, of Mexico, has been rescheduled to take place on the undercard of the Oscar Valdez-Shakur Stevenson junior lightweight unification fight on April 30 (ESPN) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, according to Top Rank. The fight was originally scheduled as the televised opener for Saturday’s Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card headlined by Edgar Berlanga-Steve Rolls at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, but Davis (4-0, 3 KOs), 23, of Norfolk, Virginia, was forced to postponed because of a non-Covid-19 illness.

With Jaime Munguia pulling out of participating in negotiations and a possible purse bid for the vacant WBO interim middleweight title against Janibek Alimkhanuly (11-0, 7 KOs), 28, a Kazakhstan native fighting out of Oxnard, California, the WBO moved on and ordered Danny Dignum (14-0-1, 8 KOs), 29, of England, to negotiate with Alimkhanuly. The WBO sent Alimkhanuly promoter Top Rank and Dignum promoter Lee Eaton a letter that read, in part, “The WBO has granted Team Munguia enough time to proceed with the bout as ordered. Therefore, considering their refusal and lack of interest to fight, this committee shall proceed, ordering negotiations with Team Danny Dignum accordingly.” They have until the end of the week to make a deal or a purse bid will be ordered. Minimum bid is $200,000.

Probellum announced a pair of media deals that will allow its cards on Friday and Saturday in Dubai to be seen in North and Central America. The cards air on sports-oriented streaming service fuboTV’s Fubo Sports Network in the United States and Canada and on ESPN KO in Latin America. Among the bouts on Friday, O’Shaquie Foster faces Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov in a WBC junior lightweight title eliminator. On Saturday, IBF flyweight titlist Sunny Edwards defends against Muhammad Waseem and former junior welterweight titlist Regis Prograis fights Tyrone McKenna.

Featherweight Ruben Villa (18-1, 5 KOs), 24, of Salinas, California, headlines the Thompson Boxing card April 15 at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California. He will face Horacio Garcia (35-5-1, 25 KOs), 31, of Mexico. The card will stream on the Thompson Boxing YouTube and Facebook pages. The fight will be the first for Villa since October 2020, when he got dropped twice and lost a decision to Emanuel Navarrete for the vacant WBO featherweight title. “I have fallen in love with the sport of boxing once again,” Villa said. “The year or so I was out, I focused on all the things I need to improve on. I have always said I want to bring a world title fight to Salinas, and that is still the goal. So, this is just the start of a new beginning.”

Top Rank announced it has signed Las Vegas junior lightweight Andres “Savage” Cortes (16-0, 9 KOs), 24, to a multi-year contract. “Andres Cortes is a tremendous action fighter and fits right in with all of the contenders at 130 pounds,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “He’s earned a promotional contract and the right to fight on major cards. I truly believe he can be the next homegrown world champion from Las Vegas.” Said Cortes: “This is an incredible opportunity, and I'm thankful to Bob Arum and everyone at Top Rank. Every time I fight, it’s the ‘Savage Show.’ I strive to entertain the fans and give them action-packed fights. With this contract, the sky’s the limit. My goal is to fight in main events and eventually bring a world title home to Las Vegas.”

Retired former world champions Erik Morales and Orlando Salido, both of Mexico, are slated to meet in a six-round exhibition bout to raise money for amateur boxing and raise awareness of child bullying and domestic violence on March 26 at the Mesquite Rodeo in Mesquite, Texas, the WBC announced. There will also be official bouts on the card.

Show and tell

Timothy Bradley Jr. had been given a split decision win over Manny Pacquiao to claim the WBO welterweight title in one of the most controversial decisions in boxing history. Other than the two judges who scored it for Bradley, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone else who thought he legitimately won. Bradley, of course, was not responsible for the scoring but received death threats over the result and heavy criticism for being a boring fighter. His life was made miserable and he never had a chance to enjoy his official win. So, for his first title defense, when Bradley faced noted brawler and former junior welterweight titlist Ruslan Provodnikov, he made the conscious decision to slug it out in an effort to appease fans and media who had been all over him. It made for an incredible and dramatic fight in which Bradley took a massive beating in the first two rounds and survived a knockdown in the final 15 seconds of the 12th round to hang on and win a unanimous decision in the eventual fight of the year. The epic battle was on March 16, 2013 — nine years ago on Wednesday. There were three different posters for the event and I have them all in my collection: A very scarce thin cardboard site poster; an HBO poster, which is also extremely scarce because the network put almost no marketing behind the fight so only a few were made; and the more common Tecate sponsor poster.

Tszyu photo: Team Tim Tszyu

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