Terence Crawford’s move up the super-welterweight division was one that fans were well behind when it was first rumoured, as a possible showdown with the then undefeated Tim Tszyu appearing as one of the most desired proposals possible. Now, ‘Bud’ has successfully made the jump to 154lbs, but Tszyu is out of the title picture, for now at least.
Tszyu was expected to defend his WBO super-welterweight crown against Keith Thurman back in March, until ‘One Time’ withdrew because of an injury. Instead, Tsyzu accepted an eyebrow-raising short-notice replacement in the appropriately nicknamed 6’5” ‘Towering Inferno’ – formally known as Sebastian Fundora.
To the surprise of many and with the aid of a gruesome cut on the face of the champion, Fundora was able to spring the split-decision upset and put an end to the Aussie’s undefeated record, with Crawford instead opting to face Israil Madrimov, who he defeated for the WBA super-welterweight title last month in a closely fought affair.
Consequently, it is Fundora who is now being linked to a clash with Crawford in a three-belt unification bout, whilst Tszyu is left undoubtedly regretting his decision to face Fundora earlier this year, with Crawford-Fundora now being ordered by the WBO.
However, Tszyu, son of Australian super-lightweight Kostya, has been thrown a lifeline and an opportunity to tee-up a showstopping fight for the undisputed titles against the winner of Crawford-Fundora, after it was announced that he will challenge Bakhram Murtazaliev for the IBF super-welterweight strap next month.
The card will take place at the Caribe Royale in Orlando on October 19th in what will be a first non-PPV Prime Video event from PBC since their move away from Showtime at the beginning of the year. Speaking to ESPN, Tszyu explained that he does not just want to win, he wants to do so in ‘spectacular fashion’.
“At this level, you have to take everyone out and Bakhram is the next guy standing in my way,”
“The world knows me and they know what I’m about. I’m thankful to my team for putting me in this position to prove why I’m still the man at 154 pounds.
“Bakhram has what I want and I plan on taking it from him in spectacular fashion. It’s time to become a two-time world champion.”
As for the undercard, Tszyu’s promoters No Limit Boxing have also won the purse bid for a unified middleweight title contest between Janibek Alimkhanuly (15-0) and Russian-New Zealander Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0) – opening the door for a possible world title double header.
Unfortunately, whilst the blueprint for a Crawford-Tszyu does seem clear, there still remains a couple of stumbling blocks in addition to possible defeats to Fundora and Murtazaliev respectively.
At present, Turki Al-Alshikh would be the man that fans would look towards to stage any such battle, and he and Tszyu remain on bad terms. Meanwhile, Eddie Hearn has also claimed that Crawford may never fight professionally again. Although, if the super-welterweight duo were to overcome those hurdles, the fight could well be perceived as one of the biggest possible match-ups away from the heavyweight division.
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