“It was a good war,” said a disconsolate Tim Tszyu, having lost his undefeated record and his WBO super welterweight title to Sebastian Fundora at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.“It started off well. We knew he was awkward, tall, rangy, flicks that jab.”
What we did not know if that the fight would turn into a gory bloodbath, with Fundora’s nose broken and pumping blood for the majority of the fight and a Tszyu would on his head would pour like a faucet for 10 rounds.
“The cut, of course, played a part a bit,” Tszyu admitted. “I couldn’t see him, but no excuses. To say I fought in this arena, I want to come back and do it again if I can. I had one weeks’ notice [after Fundora came in for Keith Thurman at late notice], it is what it is.”
The downbeat Australian said he wanted a rematch, but that he was open to any major fight at 154, including Errol Spence and Terence Crawford. Spence gate-crashed the ring afterwards to challenge Fundora, in a move Tszyu called “interesting” but Tszyu is also open to facing Spence.
“I’d love to fight Errol Spence as well and hopefully we can get it on sometime,” Tszyu added.
“[I’ll] have a little two-week rest and then get back in the gym. I want to fight the best, I want to make the mega-fights happen. We were able to do this at the T-Mobile Arena and it’s pretty unreal, I want the biggest fights you can imagine and I’m still chasing them. I want the very top of the tree.”
Tszyu, accurately, described his head cut – caused by a trailing elbow – as a fountain, and iconic cut man Stitch Duran called it the worst type of cut you can get in boxing. Torrent of red flowed down Tszyu’s forehead and into his eyes.
“My eyesight was gone. I literally couldn’t see. I was wiping my eyes non-stop. I physically felt alright, [but] you’re fighting with blurry vision. It’s not ideal.”
Asked if he considered asking for the fight to be stopped, Tszyu said that was not even a question.
“What, so for me to tell the ref [he couldn’t fight on]? No. I took Fundora on at a weeks’ notice, I am who I am. I’m a warrior. This is what I do. A bit of blood ain’t never killed nobody.
“My role was to come here to the States, that Mexican fight style and go to war, warrior mentality, that’s what I’m all about. I wanted to appeal to this market. These are the fights you want to see.”Asked about the late substitution of Fundora for Thurman, he said he felt he was lining up Fundora well with right hands until the treacherous wound was accidentally caused by the point of Fundora’s elbow.
“It didn’t play a part,” Tszyu said of the opponent swap. “I was able to adapt the first two rounds, it felt quite comfortable and he just came out on top. That’s all there is. He was the better man tonight. He won by one round, a split decision, so it is what it is. We move on. The show goes on.”