Tszyu 'hype train' smacked down by latest rival

Tim Tszyu's next opponent Dennis Hogan says there's too much "hype" surrounding the undefeated star ahead of their March 31 clash in Newcastle.

Tszyu will have a chance to continue his father's legacy and success in the city when he faces Hogan (28-3-1), an Irish fighter based in Brisbane, who has lost two challenges for a world title in his last two fights.

After Brian Castano claimed the WBO super welterweight belt in a unanimous points win over Patrick Teixeira on the weekend, Tszyu, who is ranked No.2 in the world, knows Hogan is the only man that stands in his way of a potential shot at the title.

The WBO announced late last year that Tszyu would be the obvious contender to face the winner of Castano and Teixera. And he'll have the chance to do it in a city where his father visited several times during his career.

Newcastle hosted seven Kostya Tszyu fights from 1993 – 1998 and the Hall of Famer never lost there, with one of his tougher clashes coming against the late Roger Mayweather, the uncle and former trainer of Floyd Mayweather jr, via unanimous points decision.

While most in the boxing game view this fight as a low-risk tune up fight for Tszyu, Hogan's camp sees it the other way around.

Hogan has fought some of the best fighters in the world and is well travelled. Many in boxing circles claim he was robbed in his 2019 WBO super welterweight defeat to Jaime Munguia in Monterrey. He was easily outclassed by Jermall Charlo in his last fight but all three of his losses have come against top class opponents for world titles.

"This is a great tune-up for him to get back on the world stage," Hogan's manager, Danny Dimas, said at Tuesday's press conference.

"We're not underestimating Tim. Tim's a great fighter, a great Australian fighter. Dennis is a world class fighter."

Tszyu (17-0-0) has been on a tear and has successive wins yet he hasn't faced the toughest fighters in the world, choosing to capitalise on his popularity at home. Hogan believes all the fanfare has created a false sense of security for Tszyu.

"There is a hype train going on," Hogan said. "As I said many times, Tim's done very well and he's beat everyone put in front of him. There's a lot of hype, though, about him. Here he's got the opportunity to prove if that's correct or not."

While Hogan pointed to the lack of world class fighters on Tszyu's record, the Aussie star hit back by highlighting his undefeated record, although he acknowledged Hogan is the man he has to beat to get to his desired destination.

"He's going to be a tough competitor, tough challenger," Tszyu said.

"As they say, he's world class. But I think he's just under that world class [standard] because he's never been able to get to the top. But look, I need to beat a 'Dennis Hogan' to be where I want to be."

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!