Tim Tszyu Makes Weight, Offers Short Message Ahead of Denis Nurja Bout

Tszyu says little after making weight as Nurja bout approaches

Tim Tszyu kept it short at the weigh-in, offering little beyond a quick line as he heads into Saturday’s fight with Denis Nurja.

Both fighters made weight without issue for the scheduled middleweight main event at the WIN Entertainment Center in Wollongong, New South Wales. Tszyu came in at 71.19kg, while Nurja was slightly lighter at 71.00kg.

The bout arrives at a point where Tszyu is trying to steady his position after a difficult stretch that included two losses to Sebastian Fundora and a disrupted run at junior middleweight. Moving up in weight and taking on an unbeaten but largely untested opponent gives him a controlled setting to get rounds and rebuild.

Nurja enters with a clean record but limited experience at this level. He has not gone past six rounds and has yet to face an opponent with Tszyu’s background, leaving questions about how he will respond if the fight extends or becomes physical early.

Tszyu admitted this week that people think the left hook is his “kryptonite.” Nurja is known for a decent body attack and a Sergey Kovalev-lite style, but he doesn’t have the elite speed to exploit those defensive holes the way a top-five contender would.

This fight is designed for Tszyu to show off his work with new trainer Pedro Diaz, prove his chin is still intact after the Murtazaliev disaster, and get a “W” back on his BoxRec.

It’s a confidence builder. If he can’t get past a #12 WBA placeholder who has never gone ten rounds, then the questions about him being “exposed” or “physically declined” become a reality.

The real test is how Tszyu wins. If he goes the distance and looks sluggish, the fans will stay skeptical. If he “gets him out” early like he promised at the weigh-in, the hype train for a potential Errol Spence Jr. fight starts moving again.

“I wanted to see how his body is,” said Tim Tszyu to No Limit when asked what he was thinking during his long face-off with Denis Nurja today. “It’s my 30th fight. So I’m not a starter-upper anymore. I’ve done my apprenticeship, so I know what’s going on.

“In this fight, if he doesn’t start running, I’m going to get him out. If I can get it done early in this fight, then I’m all for that.”

On the undercard, Sam Goodman meets Rodrigo Fabian Ruiz in a junior featherweight title eliminator, with both fighters also making weight. The rest of the card proceeded without issues at the scales.

Full weigh-in results:

Middleweights – 10 rounds
Tim Tszyu (71.19kg) vs Denis Nurja (71.00kg)

Junior featherweights – 12 rounds
Sam Goodman (55.30kg) vs Rodrigo Fabian Ruiz (55.28kg)

Heavyweights – four rounds
Nelson Asofa-Solomona (134.46kg) vs Jarrod Wallace (119.56kg)

Middleweights – eight rounds
Callum Peters (71.96kg) vs Delio Anzaqeci Mouzinho (72.12kg)

Light heavyweights – 10 rounds
Paulo Aokuso (79.22kg) vs Kittipong Jian Hao Ho (79.22kg)

Junior welterweights – 10 rounds
Charlie Kazzi (62.94kg) vs Blair Geraghty (63.22kgs)

Super middleweights – 10 rounds
Max Reeves (75.64kg) vs Francis Waitai (75.76kg)

Junior middleweights – five rounds
Dharringarra Trewhella (67.54kg) vs Dominic Bailey (68.18kg)