Tim Bradley views this Saturday’s headliner between WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora as a fight that could lead to stardom for the winner if they’re victorious against pound-for-pound fighter Terence Crawford in the fall.
Tszyu vs. Fundora will meet on Saturday night on March 30th in what Bradley views as a “soft opening” for Premier Boxing Champions with their first event on Prime PPV on Amazon at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Fundora is replacing Keith Thurman, who broke down in training camp with an injury and had to pull out. PBC took a big gamble from the start by using the 35-year-old Thurman because he’s only fought three times since 2017, and he’d been out of the ring for too many years to bank on him making it through training camp without falling apart.
PBC failed in planning by choosing to use Thurman instead of a more viable, younger contender. The undercard is littered with fighters that don’t rate being on a PPV card, so Thurman isn’t the only flub PBC made.
The event is priced at $70, which may scare off many U.S fans, given the card lacks a great headliner name, and the co-feature is a lackluster fight between WBA light welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero and Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.
The Crawford Sweepstakes
“He’s the one that everyone is paying attention to right now. He’s the one that is putting on great shows and knockout after knockout,” said Tim Bradley to the Probox TV YouTube channel about WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu, who defends against Sebastian Fundora this Saturday night.
“What’ I’m hearing is attached to this fight is the Terence Crawford sweepstakes. Whichever of these two [Fundora and Tszyu] can make the adjustments, get the knockout, and look great, there’s a possibility they can face Terence Crawford in the fall.”
American fans would prefer that Crawford fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis rather than the winner of the Tszyu vs. Fundora fight because those guys aren’t as popular or well-known as him. Boots is considered a future superstar, and you can’t say that about their recently knocked-out Fundora or Tszyu.
“That’s what makes you a star. If you can get this win [on Saturday night], and you can beat a fighter of Terence Crawford’s quality, because he is a star in the game, then you become a star,” said Bradley.
It’s questionable whether Tszyu or Fundora will become stars if they defeat the 36-year-old Crawford because any victory they achieve over him will be discredited due to Terence’s advanced age, inactivity, and the fact that he’s never fought at 154.
Prime Video Debut for PBC
“It’s a soft opening [for PBC on Amazon Prime with the Tszyu vs. Fundora event]. I think it’s going to do okay. I don’t think it’s going to do crazy [PPV numbers]. Again, you need a star. If you had a Tank, if you had a Canelo, okay, now you’re coming out huge, but that’s not the case here,” said Bradley.