Tim Tszyu’s road back to a 154-pound summit winds through familiar fire this Saturday, when he meets WBC super-welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora in a high-stakes rematch beneath Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios. Last year their 11-days-notice bloodbath hinged on a savage forehead cut, leaving Tszyu to wing desperation shots while the 6ft 6in “Towering Inferno” nicked a split decision.
The Australian has rebuilt only once since - a predictable four-round finish of Joey Spencer - yet the psychological debris from Bakhram Murtazaliev’s brutal stoppage still lingers. Tszyu insists the extra five pounds and new scars have hardened him, but against Fundora, a lanky puncher who’s quietly tightened his defence and blasted out Chordale Booker in four, he must again embrace pain over plan.
Fundora’s lone setback, a dramatic Brian Mendoza knockout in 2023, came and went early enough for a full reset; Tszyu’s protracted pummelling by Murtazaliev remains fresher and far more punishing. If repeat head clashes or Fundora’s jab reopen old doubts, the champion’s reach and volume could stretch Tszyu into the same claustrophobic corridors where certainty evaporated last time.
Expect another savage chess match - but with momentum, height and a less-haunted psyche, Fundora is tipped to edge the Aussie once more on the cards, leaving Tszyu to decide whether the soul-taking journey has reached its limits.
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