Tszyu to douse ‘Inferno’

Australian served up unification bout

Tim Tszyu will fight ‘The Towering Inferno’ Sebastian Fundora in a WBO and WBC super welterweight world title unification bout after Keith Thurman sensationally pulled out with a biceps injury just 12 days before the fight.

The fight will still take place on March 30 (March 31 in Australia) at T-Mobile Arena, with Tszyu-Fundora the card’s new main event.

After a night of frantic negotiations in Sydney and Las Vegas, Tszyu’s manager Glen Jennings confirmed the update.

“We’ve managed to pull off a bit of a coup,” Jennings said. “We’ll be fighting Sebastian Fundora and it will be a unification for the WBO, which Tim already holds, and the vacant WBC belt.”

It’s far from the first late-notice fight drama Tszyu has had in his professional career, and his response was typical of the 29-year-old.

“Are you serious?” Tszyu said when he received the news. “If Thurman’s out, I’ll take on whoever puts their hand up.”

Within minutes, he was watching highlights of Fundora on his phone, while his coach and uncle, Igor Goloubev, began strategising for the new opponent.

Then he was back in the gym training.

“I’m watching Tim now, and it’s as if nothing’s happened,” Jennings said.

“I broke the news to him, and it’s hard to put into words, but within 30 seconds of finding out Thurman was out, I’d lost him to conversation.

“He was looking at Fundora’s last fight on his phone.

“Thurman is no longer in the thought process and it’s all focus on Fundora.”

Tszyu’s showdown with Thurman was set to be fought at 155-pounds – one pound above the super-welterweight limit – with the Aussie’s world title not on the line. Although, if he lost to Thurman, the WBO title would have been made vacant.

Fundora was scheduled to fight Serhii Bohachuk for the vacant WBC world title on the Tszyu-Thurman undercard.

Bohachuk will likely now fight Brian Mendoza – Tszyu’s most recent opponent – as Fundora’s undercard replacement.

Erislandy Lara was even considered as a possible replacement opponent for Tszyu, in what would have been a shattering blow for Michael Zerafa, who is scheduled to fight the Cuban for the WBA middleweight title.

A southpaw, Fundora is a vastly different opponent to former two-time welterweight champion

At 197cm, he’s the tallest fighter in the division by far – 26cm taller than Thurman. In 2022, he won the interim WBC super-welterweight world title with a ninthround stoppage of Erickson Lubin.

Lubin was closely linked to a fight with Tszyu earlier this year, before Thurman emerged.

Fundora defended the interim WBC belt with a win over Carlos Ocampo in 2022.

Thurman.