FEUDING FAMILIES
Brothers of Horn and Tszyu to face off
TWO years after Tim Tszyu ended the boxing career of Jeff Horn, contracts are in place for Ben Horn to fight Nikita Tszyu at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney next month.
The Tszyu and Horn rivalry became the biggest in Australian boxing since Anthony Mundine and Danny Green, and their 2020 showdown in Townsville was the fifth-highest-selling pay-per-view boxing event in Australian history.
The Nikita Tszyu v Ben Horn fight will be shown free for Fox Sports and Kayo subscribers.
Nikita (2-0, 2KO) has stormed on to the boxing scene with two vicious knockout wins in his first two fights, catching the attention of global promoter Eddie Hearn.
In his last fight, Ben Horn (4-4) lost a majority decision for the Australian welterweight championship to Ben Kite on March 13.
Jeff Horn, the former WBO welterweight world champion, suffered an eighth-round stoppage loss to Tim Tszyu on August 26, 2020, with Ben in his corner, and has not fought since.
He has become a regular commentator on Fox Sports and Main Event boxing events, while Ben, nicknamed “The Hunter”, has remained active, racking up four consecutive wins before back-to-back decision losses to Lachlan O’shea and Kite.
No Limit Boxing chief executive George Rose paid tribute to Ben Horn for accepting the fight against Nikita after others backed out.
“Ben was the only superwelterweight in Australia who walked the talk and genuinely chased this fight,” Rose said.
“It’s a credit to him, he’s a genuine fighter. There’s a host of fighters quick to shout the Tszyu name and claim they want him next but a deafening silence when I follow them up.
“Nikita’s a walking highlight reel every time he steps foot into the ring. His raw talent is limitless and I know (trainer) Igor (Goloubev) will have him prepared for anything. The power in his hands is something else and it’s making noise not just here in Australia on his opponents, but around the world too.”
The news came as Tim Tszyu moved closer to an undisputed super-welterweight title fight against Jermell Charlo in the US in October or November. Their teams are in the final stages of negotiations.