The decision to sell Tim Tszyu's "ruthless" victory over Steve Spark overseas has paid off for the undefeated Australian and his promoters No Limit.
Even though the original plan was for movers and shakers in the big markets to catch a glimpse of Tszyu disposing of Michael Zerafa, his last viable opponent Down Under, it appears jumping in the ring with a fighter who usually fights two weight divisions below him didn't hurt his stock at all.
Tszyu's dealmakers negotiated with broadcasters in the US, United Kingdom and Russia to air the fight live with the clash described as a "milestone" by Tszyu's manager Glen Jennings, who said the bout would be their last against a domestic opponent.
Tszyu is currently one of several fighters who are undefeated in the division and is technically in position to take on the winner of Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano's title unification fight later this month. However there's next to no chance of a fight taking place in Australia.
Either way, Tszyu is climbing up the world rankings and is holding out hope of scoring a fight with UK fighter Liam Smith, who pushed pound-for-pound star Canelo Alvarez in 2016. Smith expressed interest in a fight on Twitter after Tszyu's victory and congratulated the Aussie on the win.
Tszyu is currently the No.1 challenger for the super welterweight WBO title and is No.3 in the IBF rankings and No.4 in the WBC rankings. According to The Ring Magazine rankings he's No.7. The publication's managing editor Tom Gray praised Tszyu's performance and "ruthless power" but stated he will have to face an internationally acclaimed opponent before even thinking about facing the winner of Charlo- Casatano.
"The likely scenario is for Tszyu to face an international opponent in his next outing before targeting the winner (of Charlo-Castano)," he wrote for the bible of boxing.
https://twitter.com/DanRafael1/status/1412844544077541380?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/LiamBeefySmith/status/1412761770826121221?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/BillyDib/status/1412743280849129481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/vinnie_paz/status/1412744354171662341?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Award-winning boxing journalist Dan Rafael tweeted: "Just watched Tim Tszyu's impressive KO3 of Steve Spark. Brutal body attack. I've said it for the past couple of years – Tszyu will win a world title. Write it down."
Writing for USA Today, Michael Rosenthal was also optimistic about Tszyu's future prospects with the Aussie destined for "bigger and better things".
Sky Sports' senior boxing journalist James Dielhenn wrote Tszyu dominated with "three one-sided rounds" with the Aussie set to continue his "explosive rise up the super-welterweight ladder".
Tszyu's manager Jennings declared post-fight that the team is ready for the "international stage."
"It's exciting, really exciting," Jennings said.
"It's a bit of a milestone for us tonight, because technically we're done domestically and we're moving on to the international stage."
Jennings said after last night's fight that promoters are looking to lure a world ranked opponent for a fight Down Under in September. In the end, boxing politics and the pandemic will decide.
Tszyu's team said before signing on to fight Zerafa they had been in negotiations with overseas opponents but no fighter wanted to spend two weeks in quarantine.
Once restrictions ease that might change but there's every chance Tszyu may have to settle for a domestic opponent again if he doesn't want to travel overseas for his next fight.
If Tszyu can beat a fighter like Smith or any of the higher ranked guys outside Australia he's sure to grab the attention of boxing big wigs overseas, as well as Charlo and Castano.
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