WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tsyu made his first comments today about his twelve-round 155-lb catchweight, non-title clash against former welterweight champion Keith Thurman on March 30th on Amazon Prime PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Tim won’t be defending his WBO 154-lb title, but he’ll have the opportunity to showcase his talent against his older, smaller, inactive foe.
Hopefully, the fight isn’t a mismatch because some fans will grumble about it and feel ripped, given the chief support bout is a trainwreck between WBA light welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero and Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.
Tszyu’s Ambition and Vegas Stage
Rolly and Ismael Barroso should rematch, as the outcome of their fight last May was controversial. Referee Tony Weeks blew it with a premature stoppage. Putting Rolly on the undercard of the Tszyu-Thurman fight looks bad on PBC’s part.
Tszyu (24-0, 19 KOs) says this is a “big moment” in his career fighting in Las Vegas, as he’d dreamed of since he was a little kid. He would prefer the fight to be against an active fighter a little younger than the 35-year-old Thurman, preferably someone from the 154-lb division.
Thurman’s Legacy Inactivity Factor
Thurman is a welterweight who has fought once in the last five years. That’s Adrien Broner-type inactivity, but Thurman is getting the gig for what he did with his career many, many years ago. PBC has picked him out, hoping to lure the older fighters into purchasing the event on Amazon Prime PPV.
It would be better if PBC matched Tszyu against a relevant fighter from this generation, like one of these fighters:
- Xander Zayas
- Jermell Charlo
- Terence Crawford
- Erickson Lubin
- Brian Mendoza
“On March 30th at the T-Mobile Arena, I’m fighting Keith Thurman. It’s a big moment in my career. I’ve been dreaming of this moment since I was a young kid. I’m finally living it in a city [Las Vegas] that I’ve always wanted to fight,” said Tim Tszyu on social media, talking about his match against veteran Keith Thurman on Amazon Prime Video PPV on March 30th in the United States.
“This is the Tszyu takeover. It’s a big dream of mine and a dream that’s turned into reality. I’m taking over. The Aussie takeover” said Tim about his fight against inactive 35-year-old welterweight Thurman.
