Fun and Games
Tszyu faces a replacement who is lesser known but arguably better than the famous but faded Thurman, writes Elliot Worsell
★★★★★ MAIN EVENT ★★★★★ UNDERCARD
WHEN Tim Tszyu started preparing for a fight on March 30 in Las Vegas, he had in mind a 35-year-old, 5ft 9ins orthodox puncher whose best days many felt were behind him and who has been inactive for two years. He trained with this exact opponent in mind; he imagined the things he would do to him, and aimed to become the first fighter to stop him.
Then Keith Thurman injured his arm in training and Tszyu was left with a void. No longer did he have a face to imagine punching and a scalp he imagined taking. Now, rather than Thurman, the WBO super-welterweight belt-holder had only a feeling of being let down.
Thankfully, this didn’t last long. In fact, no sooner had it been announced that Thurman would be unable to fight than a replacement name and face arrived. Tszyu would still be fighting, and headlining, but would now do so against Sebastian Fundora, a super-welterweight as far removed from Keith Thurman as humanly possible. At 6ft 5ins, and a southpaw to boot, Fundora is unlike any superwelterweight in the world. He also boasts neither the name nor experience of Thurman and enters this fight having suffered defeat in his previous contest. That said, he is surely fresher than Thurman, arguably more ambitious than Thurman, and, best of all, had been due to box on the event’s undercard, so should therefore be in shape and ready for action. All things considered, this is about as good as anyone could hope for in terms of a replacement. Some will even say it is better – or at least more intriguing – than the original main event. Tszyu, after all, now has to answer questions he has previously never been asked. In Fundora, he will be fighting an anomaly; someone for whom he has had very little time to prepare, and someone whose style requires considerable preparation. He will be giving away huge numbers in height and reach and will have to almost erase from his memory the plans he would have made with Keith Thurman in mind to come up with something completely new and different.
That’s the challenge for Tszyu in this fight and also the appeal of it: an unbeaten champion having to adjust at the last minute, think on his feet, and see what
he can produce when not everything is to his liking, nor on his terms.
Chances are Tszyu, 29, will tackle this situation with gusto and make it look as though there was no pre-fight problem at all. Yet until we see him do this, there remains an element of mystery and intrigue which perhaps wasn’t there when Thurman was booked to be in the opposite corner.
That’s not to say Fundora, 26, is better than Thurman at this stage of their respective careers. The reality is, we don’t know. But Fundora is certainly different and different, moreover, in a way that suggests he will pose a problem for as long as he is upright and towering over Tszyu.
The big question when analysing Fundora is this: How much did his first pro loss take out of him? That the loss, a seventh-round stoppage defeat against Brian Mendoza, happened in his last fight should be cause for concern, both for Fundora and those expecting a competitive fight against Tszyu, 24-0 (17). It was almost a year ago, granted, but the way in which he crumbled against Mendoza when ahead on the cards is not something easy to shake or forget, particularly when he has not fought since. In other words, it could stay with him, that defeat; the manner of it; the feelings attached to it. Indeed, it was something of a surprise that Fundora was planning on returning in a WBC title fight against Serhii Bohachuk – his original opponent for Saturday – rather than easing his way back gently. That fight seemed dangerous enough, what with Bohachuk finishing all 23 of his pro wins before the final bell, but Tszyu, as an opponent, is still another level up from that – not to mention one who beat that same Mendoza fairly comfortably last time out; a unanimous decision in October. The American made a good start and always posed a threat with his punching power, but Tszyu had him figured out long before the final bell.
Maybe Fundora, 20-1-1 (13), feels he needs tests like these in order to truly motivate himself and exorcise the demons from last April. Or, perhaps, as an entertaining and fan-friendly fighter,
he finds himself taking risky assignments because that is what is now expected of him. Either way, there is a sense that Tszyu, given all that is at stake, will have enough poise and composure to fiddle his way through some tricky early rounds before breaking Fundora down and overwhelming him late.
After a bit of a reshuffle, Serhii Bohachuk, Fundora’s original opponent, will now fight Brian Mendoza, both
Tzyu’s and Fundora’s last opponent, over 12 rounds. Bohachuk, 23-1 (23), was initially going to fight Fundora for the vacant WBC title, but, thanks to Thurman’s injury, that belt is set to be used in the main event instead. Which means Bohachuk must fight Mendoza, 22-3 (16), for an ‘interim’ belt and hope to remain in line for a shot at the real thing.
Meanwhile, Cuba’s Erislandy Lara, 29-3-3 (17), defends his WBA ‘regular’ middleweight belt against Australian
Michael Zerafa, 31-4 (19), and
Rolando Romero, 15-1 (13), and
Isaac Cruz, 25-2-1 (17), lock horns with Romero’s WBA “regular” superlightweight belt on the line.
THERE IS AN ELEMENT OF INTRIGUE THAT PERHAPS WASN’T THERE WITH THURMAN
THE VERDICT A solid four-fight offering to launch Amazon Prime’s much-anticipated foray into televised boxing.