Tim Tszyu has admitted to wishing he could have taken advice from his Hall of Father Kostya during his shock WBO world title loss back in March – and now hopes to have him in his corner later this year.
The popular Sydneysider has also detailed, however, and with a laugh, the “bulls***” claims his old man made during a recent, and highly publicised, training camp between the pair in Thailand – their first catch up in five years.
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All of which comes as Australia’s boxing poster boy has also branded Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis “special” and the undeniable star of the lightweight division, tipping him to score a highlight reel KO against Frank Martin this Sunday.
Among world boxing’s biggest stars, 29-year-old Davis will snap the longest lay-off of his pro career when defending the WBA title against Martin in a Las Vegas headliner set to be shown live in Australia on Main Event.
Tszyu is also tipping one of his favourite fighters, American David Benavidez, to move up from super middleweight and “smash” Ukraine’s Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC interim light heavyweight title.
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Tszyu, meanwhile, is himself set to resume sparring in early July as he begins his own comeback from that shock world title loss against towering American southpaw Sebastian Fundora, which saw the Aussie suffer a nasty head cut.
While the 29-year-old was then set to make his comeback from that loss against unbeaten American prodigy Vergil Ortiz Jnr in August, that has since been cancelled due to ‘The Soul Taker’ needing additional time for the cut to heal.
The shock cancellation was a surprise even to the fighter, who had already commenced camp by spending a fortnight training in Thailand, which included a week with his dad who flew in from Russia.
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Speaking with Fox Sports Australia this week, Tszyu revealed it was the first time the pair had caught up since before he fought Jack Brubaker in 2019.
In the years since, Tszyu has fought another 10 times in both Australia and the US, won and lost titles, and risen up to become a boxer recognised globally for his old school approach to the fight game.
So as for the highlight of their time together?
“Definitely our first interaction,” Tszyu said, smile widening at the memory.
“Because we hadn’t seen each other in such a long time, that was something special.
“It was great.
“Just spending that one-on-one time together and seeing how he’s changed.”
Tszyu and his promoters No Limit posted several images to social media showing the pair sweating through a variety of workouts, with Kostya apparently doing his best, even at 54, to bring his eldest son undone.
“Oh, he tried to break me,” Tszyu continued with a grin.
“He was telling me all these stories about the things he used to do in training.
“So I had to be ‘ah, OK, dad I’m going to do everything you say’.
“It was good fun.”
But as for how he handled some of those marks the old boy apparently set in his own physical prime?
“Some of the stuff,” Tszyu cackled, “I could tell it was bulls …
“Honestly, he was saying things that would’ve been physically impossible.”
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Yet despite having to complete a range of training tasks with a Kostya GST apparently attached, Tszyu also admitted to wishing his father had been in camp with him for the Fundora clash, where he dominated the first two rounds of the championship bout before suffering a nasty head clash from a wayward elbow.
From there, the Aussie effectively fought blind for 30 minutes but still went within one point of stealing a win, eventually losing via split decision.
“And you know what? I regret that I didn’t have him there,” conceded Tszyu, who has famously said in the past he never wanted dad ringside again following the chaos that was his being there for his 2016 pro debut against Zoran Cassady.
However, given the time they spent together in Thailand, and the knowledge the old man was able to impart, Tszyu now wishes dad to be present for his next bout, later this year, against any number of potential opponents.
“It really would have been a wealth of knowledge in Fundora fight week,” the fighter added. “It would’ve been great to have him there when I needed him.”
Maybe at your next fight then?
“Yeah,” he added, “hopefully.”
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Elsewhere, Tszyu has also branded Davis a “special” fighter and the star of a lightweight division that includes Shakur Stevenson and the legendary Vasyl Lomachenko, who only recently earned a vintage stoppage win over Australia’s George Kambosos.
Asked for a prediction against Martin this Sunday, Tszyu replied: “Tanks wins by KO.
“He’s a special fighter.
“But before all of that, I’m looking forward to watching Benavidez.
“He’s one of my favourite fighters right now. I think he’s going to smash Gvozdyk.”
Benavidez could also be a future opponent for Australia’s own cruiserweight king Jai Opetaia.
Fresh off a tough rematch win over Mairis Briedis, the Central Coast product and new IBF champ recently welcomed a fight with Benavidez should he move up yet another division.
Speaking to Fight Hub, Opetaia said: “If he (Benavidez) wants to come up to cruiserweight, bring it on.
“Cruiserweight is my division, you know, until I move out of it. Come and get it.”