Tim Tszyu says there were “a lot of reasons” for him losing to Bakhram Murtazaliev. He says this wasn’t “the best version” of himself when he was knocked out in the third round by the IBF junior middleweight champion Murtazaliev last October. He says he suffered a concussion in the second round after being hit hard. However, he doesn’t say what the other reasons were.
Fundora Rematch: Tszyu’s New Excuse
Tszyu (25-2, 18 KOs) will need to be 100% on Saturday night when he challenges Sebastian Fundora (22-1-1, 14 KOs) in a rematch for his WBC 154-lb title on July 19th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. He lost to Fundora by a 12-round split decision last year. Tszyu has an excuse for that loss, blaming it on a cut.
Fundora doesn’t think too much about Tszyu’s habit of using excuses. He says his fists were the reason he won that fight. It had nothing to do with Tim’s cut forehead.
“With the Bakhram loss, there were A LOT of reasons for it. What happens happens. This is the best version of myself,” said Tim Tszyu to FOX Sports Australia, hinting at a problem that led to his loss to Bakrham Murtazaliev last October.
It would have been nice if Tszyu had revealed what the “reasons” were for his third-round knockout loss to Muratazaliev. For him to be floating the idea of there being an explanation for him being obliterated, it just sounds like he’s an excuse-maker. First, he used his cut against Sebastian Fundora as his excuse for the loss. Now, he’s got a new excuse for why he lost to Muratazalev. It’s kind of pathetic when you look at it.
Concussion From Murtazaliev Fight
“I got caught early, and I was concussed. I had a concussion from round two as soon as I got hit with that shot,” said Tszyu about being dropped by IBF champion Murtazaliev early on. “I remember getting hit with something I never felt before. It wasn’t about being able to come back and be able to dig in.”
Tszyu got hit with a big left hook from Murtazaliev in the second round. He was fighting recklessly like he’d done in his previous fight against Fundora, and Murtazaliev was the wrong guy to do that against. The Russian fighter was fighting with just his left hand because he’d injured his right in training camp. So, he was dominating Tszyu using his left. That makes Murtazaliev’s blowout win all the more impressive.
“If I were able to keep on going, fighting through a concussion like that, who knows what would have happened? I’m sort of glad that it didn’t go to the latter part because health is #1. I would never quit. I think that was a good lesson learned,” said Tszyu.
Who is Tim trying to kid? He wasn’t going to make it out of the third round, even if his corner hadn’t thrown in the towel to save him. Murtazaliev had already dropped Tszyu once in the third and three times in round two. There was literally no chance he was going to make it to the later rounds.
Last Updated on 07/15/2025
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