Tszyu’s $2m gamble
TIM Tszyu risked a careerhigh $2m payday when he took on Takeshi Inoue on Wednesday night.
Tsyu put on the line one of the biggest purses ever for an Australian fighter.
At stake was his No.1 ranking and a mandatory shot at WBO super-welterweight champion Brian Castano next year.
Tszyu pocketed $1m against WBO No.6 Inoue, but his purse for a world title fight would double that based on projections of pay-per-view sales, sources revealed.
The revelation rams home what a risk the bout at Sydney Olympic Park was for the 27year-old, who did not need to take the fight.
Tszyu was already mandated by the WBO to face Castano, and simply could have waited for that title shot next year instead of risking it with an unnecessary bout against a world-class opponent.
However, Tszyu (19-0, 15KO) and his team were extremely confident in the fighter’s abilities, and Tszyu himself wants to stay active rather than “sit on the couch”.
No Limit Boxing chief executive George Rose all but confirmed Tszyu’s $2m payday against Castano when asked, saying “the figure you’ve been given is not guaranteed but it is in line with where Tim is at now and where he’s heading should he get a world title.
“We would expect it would be upwards of $1.5m.
“Look, at the end of the day this is a risk Tim wants to take, he is prepared for it.
“He has shown time and again that he rises to the occasion, and performs on the big stage and that’s what we expect to see again. I’m expecting Tim to send a message to the super-welterweight division with an impressive performance against his toughest opponent to date.”
Inoue (17-1-1, 10KO) predicted a knockout win over Tszyu from the moment he arrived in Sydney.
The Japanese fighter had lost only once – to undefeated world champion Jaime Munguia – and believed he had the strength and power to wear
down Tszyu, “break his spirit” and get a stoppage in the latter half of their 12-round fight.
But Tszyu consistently predicted he would knock out Inoue inside six rounds.