It’s tough being the son, or the daughter, of a boxing legend. Following in the footsteps of a giant is no easy task, as ‘fighting juniors’ such as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Ronald Hearns, Marvis Frazier, George Foreman III and others found out.
In the case of Tim Tszyu, a fighter who has already reached the heights of becoming a world champion, he doesn’t merely want to equal the achievements of his father, the great Kostya Tszyu – he wants to overtake them.
Speaking with AAP after a training session ahead of this Saturday night’s must-win return fight with Sebastian Fundora (the rematch to take place on the stacked card in Las Vegas that will be headlined by the Mario Barrios-Manny Pacquiao fight), Tszyu said he aims to “overtake my dad.”
What’s Driving Tszyu’s Ambitious Goal?
Tszyu, who is currently 25-2(18), the other loss coming via shock stoppage against Bakhram Murtazaliev, held the WBO belt at 154 pounds, but he aims to do so much more in the sport.
“One of my desires is just to overtake my dad,” 30 year old Tszyu said. “Not in a disrespectful way but in a way that, if I’m able to do that, we can create the greatest Tszyu legacy, the greatest fighting family that’s ever lived – and that’s my goal. Two-time world champion’s got a good ring to it, doesn’t it? Timmy two-time sounds alright to me and that’s what I intend to do.”
If Tszyu can avenge his bloody loss to Fundora, 22-1-1(14) and become a two-time champ (the WBC belt will be on the line on Saturday), he might be on his way to emulating his father. But overtaking him? That would require a heck of a lot more from Tszyu Jr. Kostya was truly special in his prime, with him dominating the 140 pound division for the better part of ten years. During a lot of this time, Tszyu was a fixture on the pound-for-pound charts.
Can He Really Top a 140-Pound Legend?
Tszyu beat the best, including: Zab Judah, Jake Rodriguez, Roger Mayweather, Calvin Grove, Rafael Ruelas, Sharmba Mitchell, and Jesse James Leija. It was a momentous upset when Tszyu lost, just twice in his career, to Vince Phillips and to Ricky Hatton.
Most greatest-ever 140 pound fighters lists have Tszyu on there. It sure is a heck of a challenge Tim Tszyu has set himself here, and it all really starts on Saturday and that return battle with Fundora. A loss on Saturday, and Tszyu can forget it.
