By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

IBF #6, WBO #9, WBC #12 Tim Tszyu (15-0, 11 KOs) will clash with WBO #5 Jeff Horn (20-2-1, 13 KOs) on August 26 at the Bank Stadium in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. He spoke to Peter Maniatis about growing up as world champion Kostya Tszyu’s son, his previous wins over Joel Camilleri, Dwight Ritchie, and Jack Brubaker, and, of course, Jeff Horn.

GROWING UP AS THE SON OF KOSTYA TSZYU

“It was a real military-based childhood. Every morning we would go for a run. We just did things out of the ordinary because my dad was out of the ordinary. He just wasn’t the typical person, he wasn’t the typical athlete. Not even the typical boxer. He would do things differently. The main thing my dad taught me was to never give up. That’s what I carry now. Always keep pushing yourself. To never stop because there are days when you feel like this is tough but you got to never give up.”

AMATEUR CAREER

“I had roughly 35 amateur fights (winning the Australian Golden Gloves title). Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I was training and then had some time off because of a different change of mindset. Eventually, I came back into the sport to train people (at the Tszyu Academy at Rockdale). I decided to compete myself later on.”

GYMNASTICS AND SOCCER

“When I was growing up, my first sport was gymnastics. It such a good sport to go into as a young kid. Flexibility and strength-wise. I played soccer also. Learn how to play and interact with other people. Team sports are a great thing when you are young. Eventually, I came back to boxing but I was boxing throughout my whole life. I was always coming to the gym doing boxing classes. I was brought up in that gym environment. As a soccer player, I was a right midfielder- I could run nonstop. I was actually playing at representative level. I was playing with good boys. A high level in New South Wales. Anything I did, I did it well. You give me a basketball, I know how to play basketball. Give me a tennis ball, I know how to play tennis. That is part of who I am.”

BEATING JOEL CAMILLERI

“Fighting Joel Camilleri (2019) was a big change in my professional career. I stepped up to a different platform. It was a nationwide (televised) audience. It was a great experience. I think Joel Camilleri would give anybody problems in the world actually. He’s a tough competitor who is very awkward. He does things out of the ordinary. He’s a very good boxer and he knows what he’s doing and super fit as well. It was a tough fight but I learned a lot in that fight. I feel like I adapted and I was able to find my rhythm eventually. The first few rounds were a bit shaky but then I got the hang of it and I thought I did a good job in the later rounds.”

(TSZYU WPTS 10 CAMILLERI MAY 2019)

BEATING WORLD RATED DWIGHT RITCHIE

“Dwight Ritchie, may he rest in peace, was a tough fight. He was a true warrior. He was swinging nonstop. His activity level was on another level. I had to dig deep. I felt like I controlled the whole fight. It was a great experience. He was the number one super welterweight in Australia. My number one goal was to get into position to fight the best super welterweight in the country and I did get that opportunity to prove myself.”

(TSZYU WPTS 10 RITCHIE AUGUST 2019)

BEATING JACK BRUBAKER

“My last fight against Jack Brubaker – I only wish it could have continued a bit longer. I was just getting the hang of it but they threw the towel in. I was just getting started.”

( TSZYU TKO4 BRUBAKER DECEMBER 2019)

JEFF HORN

“There’s a lot of things that separate Jeff, an average world champion professional boxer, from a world class contender. Becoming a world champion is one thing, but staying world champion is another thing. He’s reached his highs and he doesn’t have the characteristics to stay as a world champion. I mean, look at what Crawford did to him. I don’t think Horn even won two or three seconds of that fight. That just proves the different class. That’s the difference. Once I win a world title, I will stay a champion. I will show the two different classes we’re at right now.”

Horn-Tszyu is predicted to draw a capacity attendance of 16,000 and will be televised on Foxtel Main Event Pay-Per-View.

Promoters: D&L Events Dean Lonergan & No Limit Boxing Promotions Matt Rose.

Matchmaker: Stuart Duncan