Tim Tszyu: ‘I’m looking to show the dog in me, I’m ready to get that feeling back’

Tim Tszyu will try to become a two-time 154-pound titleholder on Saturday when he takes on IBF beltholder Bakhram Murtazaliev at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida on Prime Video. 

Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs), the son of Hall of Fame boxer Kostya Tszyu, suffered his first career defeat in March and lost his WBO junior middleweight title to Sebastian Fundora via split decision in one of the bloodiest bouts in recent memory.

“I’m preparing for the best version of myself and being present for every single second of the fight,” Tszyu told BoxingScene. “I haven’t thought much about Murtazaliev to be honest. I know he’s tough and dangerous. But it’s me who’s in the ring … A perfect fight would take 30 seconds but I’m not looking for the knockout. I’m just looking to show the dog in me and I’m ready to get that feeling back.”

In the Fundora fight, Tszyu suffered a deep gash around his hairline at the end of the second round following an accidental elbow. Blood incessantly flowed from the cut and affected the 29-year-old Australian’s vision for the remainder of the fight. 

“I feel like I lost a bit of concentration in the Fundora fight due to the cut in the early-to-mid rounds,” said Tszyu. “Emotions played a part, distractions. It made me lose a couple of rounds, which cost me the fight. It was a lesson learned that no matter what circumstances you’re given, there are no excuses.

That’s how I approach it now. I still had the belief and felt comfortable with him at certain times and felt like I could turn the tide around and land more shots. I saw hurt in the early rounds as well. I felt like I could have gotten the job done.”

Tszyu wants to eventually run it back with Fundora, and it will be easier to do so should he beat Murtazaliev.

Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 KOs), a 31-year-old from Grozny, Russia, scored an 11th-round knockout of Jack Culcay in April in Germany to win the vacant title he now holds. 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.