{"id":378427,"date":"2024-03-22T03:53:18","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T04:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=378427"},"modified":"2024-03-22T08:04:12","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T08:04:12","slug":"tszyus-warning-shot-ahead-of-awkward-title-defence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=378427","title":{"rendered":"Tszyu's warning shot ahead of 'awkward' title defence"},"content":{"rendered":"

T\ufeffim Tszyu<\/a> has admitted the challenge of Sebastian Fundora<\/a> will be an "awkward" one for him to overcome – but urged fans to be ready for a knockout in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

The undefeated Australian star will defend his WBO junior-middleweight title in the main event at the T-Mobile Arena on March 31 (AEDT), while also looking to unify his belt with the vacant WBC prize against Fundora.<\/p>\n

Tszyu was initially scheduled to take on Keith Thurman, but the bout was called off earlier this week after the American suffered a biceps injury during training.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Young gun's big contract news after coach fires up<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Olympian's warning after last-fight faux pas<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> \ufeffThe 20-star AFL hit list as Tasmanian raid looms<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

After a whirlwind turn of events, it was revealed Tszyu would now take on Fundora, who stands at 197cm tall and is one of the most feared 154-pounders on the planet.<\/p>\n

Speaking during open workouts after coming face-to-face with his opponent, the 29-year-old admitted Fundora could pose a threat to his reign as champ, but is taking advice from Brian Mendoza – the only man to stop 'The Towering Inferno' in his career.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"I had sparring for the new opponent come in on Monday and I was grateful for the great work they gave me," Tszyu said.<\/p>\n

"This fight is all about awkwardness when you have someone that tall, but nothing phases me. It is what it is and the show goes on. It's a legacy-defining type of fight.<\/p>\n

"I've met Fundora before and I respect him and how he fights. I just have to find the right shots. Every great boxer finds the way to win and we'll find those keys on March 30.<\/p>\n

"I talked to Brian Mendoza and he talked about how Fundora is awkward with his style and that he uses his height to his advantage in different ways.<\/p>\n

"My message to the fans is definitely don't blink during this one."\ufeff<\/p>\n

Tszyu (\ufeff24-0) has climbed to the top of the division in recent years, with a win over Fundora placing him in line for a showdown with pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford<\/a> later this year.<\/p>\n

But standing in his way will be one of boxing's great anomalies in Fundora, who is confident he has the size and prowess to overcome the Sydney-born superstar.<\/p>\n

"My original opponent Serhii Bohachuk has a lot of similarities to Tim Tszyu, so it's no difference for me … if I stick to my plan, I'll be successful," he told media. \ufeff<\/p>\n

"A win puts me back at number one in the division. That's where I want to be. I have my eyes on all of the big names. This is the first stone in the Fundora legacy.<\/p>\n

"Of course, I believe I'm going to win this fight."\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

T\ufeffim Tszyu has admitted the challenge of Sebastian Fundora will be an "awkward" one for him to overcome – but urged fans to be ready […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":378429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378427"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=378427"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":378430,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378427\/revisions\/378430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/378429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=378427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=378427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=378427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}