Tim Tszyu, if the last name sounds familiar, it’s because Tim is the son of hall of fame legend Kostya Tszyu. Kostya, also known as “The Thunder from Down Under” was one of the best junior welterweights of all time and one of the premier champions of the late ’90s and early 2000s. Kostya officially retired in 2005 but now his son is looking to follow in his father’s footsteps.
More importantly, Tim Tszyu is looking to build his own legacy.
Tim Tszyu (17-0, 13 KO’s) of Australia, has been campaigning at the super welterweight division.
Tszyu looks like a taller version of his father and so far, also possesses the same type of power. Tszyu started his career in 2016 and he has become a big attraction in Australia.
The big shining moment for Tszyu was last year in August. Boxing fans got to witness Tszyu clash with Jeff Horn which was a big showdown in Australia. Jeff Horn was a former welterweight champion and Tszyu was the rising contender.
The fight was not only to see who the best of Australia was but also a crossroads fight. Horn was a step up in competition for Tszyu at the time but in the end, Tszyu showed us why he is a force to be reckoned with.
Tszyu dominated and punished Horn which resulted in an eight-round TKO victory for Tszyu. The win opened eyes to the American public and now everyone has taken notice. To follow this up, Tszyu had another fight to end 2020.
Even though it was expected for him to win, Tszyu wanted to make sure the fans kept talking about him. He defeated the unbeaten Bowyn Morgan and impressively stopped him in the first round.
After a quick rise up in the rankings after becoming professional-just a little over four years, the sky is the limit for Tszyu. Now, he is closing in on a title shot and is now ranked among the top of the super welterweight division.
Ring Ratings have the Aussie ranked at number nine in the division. Right now, the man of the division is Jermell Charlo but it’s a wide-open division.
The journey for Tszyu continues on Wednesday as he once again steps up the competition. Tszyu’s opponent will be Irishman Dennis “Hurricane” Hogan (28-3-1, 7 KO’s).
Hogan has defeated some good fighters in the division and has the experience in big fights. Most notably, Hogan went to a distance with Jaime Munguia in 2019 and lost a close decision. However, some observers felt Hogan deserved the nod in that fight.
In his last fight in 2019, Hogan was stopped by Jermall Charlo in seven rounds but that was in the middleweight division, which was a higher weight class for Hogan. So on paper, this will be a good test for Tszyu.
If Tszyu is victorious in the Hogan fight, this can line him up with a title shot with the current WBO Super Welterweight Champion Brian Castano (17-0-1, 12 KO’s). Tszyu is currently ranked number one by the WBO. If Tszyu were able to get a stoppage over Hogan, we can be looking at one of the next big stars of the division. Either way, we are looking forward to the progress of Tim Tszyu.