Sebastian Fundora isn’t buying Tim Tszyu’s excuses about his cut having affected his performance, which he believes caused his loss to Tszyu last year. Fundora (22-1-1, 14 KOs) says Tszyu (25-2, 18 KOs) had his eyes on him the whole time during the fight, and wasn’t blinking the way fighters do when they’re having a difficult time seeing after being cut.
Tszyu’s Cut Not a Factor
It did look like Tszyu had his eyes wide open throughout the contest. Blood was pouring from a cut on his scalp that Tim suffered in round two when he ran into Fundora’s left elbow while trying to punch him.
WBC junior middleweight champion Fundora will defend against Tszyu in a rematch on July 19th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The event will be streamed on PBC PPV on Prime Video. The price of the card is $59.99.
“This fight is the biggest fight of my career, and I can feel it. Usually, it’s the next fight, but this is the one,” said Tim Tszyu to Sports on Prime about his rematch with Sebastian Fundora on July 19th.
Unfair Tszyu Title Shot?
What some fans have a problem with is Tszyu being given a title shot against Fundora despite having a 1-2 record in his last three fights. Tim was knocked out in the third round by IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev last October.
Tszyu’s lone win since then came against lower-ranked Joseph Spencer last April, which was a confidence-booster type of fight. Fans argue that there are more deserving contenders in the WBC’s rankings who have been waiting for a world title shot against Fundora.
It’s not fair that Tszyu is being allowed to skip past them to fight for a world title, having lost two out of his last three fights. He’s essentially failed his way into a title shot against Sebastian, and his cut excuse doesn’t fly with people. He doesn’t want to confront the truth that he wasn’t good enough, just like when Bakhram obliterated him.
Tim’s “Short Camp” Claim
“I get to study him, adapt to him, not just having a week of sparring. Being able to have a proper camp,” said Tszyu about his rematch with Fundora, contrasting it to how he fought Sebastian last year on short notice. “As I said previously, he should have killed me when he had the chance. I felt in control in the first couple of rounds.”
As you can see, Tszyu mentions that he had a short camp for his fight against Fundora last year. This is another excuse by Tim to try and whitewash what happened rather than owning the loss and admitting to the fans that the better fighter beat him.
It was clear to see that Fundora’s height, long arms, and high punch output were a nightmare for Tszyu. He wasn’t used to someone that tall throwing so many punches, overwhelming his ability to block the incoming fire. Tszyu’s habit of loading up on single shots was no match for the bombardment of shots from Fundora.
Fundora on Tszyu’s Vision
“In boxing, things change so fast,” said Fundora. “The whole fight, I saw him looking into my eyes. I didn’t think that cut was bothering him at all. It wasn’t him blind or closing his eyes. I can’t see out of my eyes. He saw the whole thing the whole time. Just like me. I’m beeding from my nose. There were a couple of times when the blood went into my eyes, but that’s what we do. In boxing, you bleed,” said Fundora.
Sebastian doesn’t agree with Tszyu’s excuses, seeing it as an attempt by him to explain away his loss to fans. Fundora’s comments suggest that he doesn’t agree with Tszyu’s attempt to varnish over the truth.
Last Updated on 07/04/2025
Read the full article here