Last December, two months after suffering a savage beating in a world title fight in Orlando, Tim Tszyu married long-time partner Alexandra.
“We’ve been together for eight years,” Tszyu says, before chuckling. “The honeymoon phase was gone seven years ago. Seven-and-a-half years ago, actually.”
It’s easier to pinpoint the precise moment the honeymoon ended professionally. On March 30 of last year, in a world title fight he took against the towering Sebastian Fundora at short notice, Tszyu suffered a bad head cut that effectively cost him any chance of victory.
There were, however, no extenuating circumstances in his last defeat. With the IBF super-welterweight belt up for grabs against Russian Bakhram Murtazaliev in October, Tszyu suffered one of the most lopsided championship beat-downs of them all.
On four separate occasions, Tszyu was floored. It was a massacre that only ended when brother Nikita mercifully threw in the towel.
It was a humbling experience.
“You feel invincible when you’re on a high, on a streak and no one can touch you. But sometimes that’s not the world we live in,” Tszyu tells this masthead during a candid conversation at his Carringbah home.
Champion boxer Tim Tszyu at his Caringbah home.Credit: Sam Mooy
“There’s no such thing as perfection. We always try and strive for it, we always try and look for it, but it doesn’t exist. It’s all about when we do fall, it’s about how you pick yourself back up.
“It’s how you come back from your defeats. That’s the whole point in life. It’s not just victories in every aspect of life; it never happens, that doesn’t exist.
“You are gonna face defeats, and it’s all about picking it up.”
Tim Tszyu copped a terrible head cut in his bout against Sebastian Fundora in March.Credit: Getty Images
What transpires on Sunday will determine whether those consecutive losses were an aberration, or the end of a once-promising career.
Tszyu’s comeback fight will be against rising American Joey Spencer (19 wins, 11 knockouts, one loss) at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre.
There is a lot riding on the outcome. Tszyu is a cash cow for promoters No Limit and Main Event, the broadcaster that charges punters $70 to tune in to each fight. When Tszyu hit the canvas for the fourth and final time at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, their respective stock prices crashed through the floor.
“We think of ourselves as superheroes, and I still do,” says Tszyu, who has resembled Clark Kent more than Superman during his two losses.
Tim Tszyu was humbled by Bakhram Murtazaliev.Credit: Getty Images
“I feel like a superhero at some given point before I fight. Sometimes you go back to reality.
“Struggle is a part of life. Instead of running away from it, I think we need to embrace it. It teaches you stuff that it won’t teach you when you’re relaxed and in your comfort zone.
“You get me? Struggle is good and people need to embrace it.”
Tszyu says this while his personal chef, Omar Iferd, is in the kitchen preparing his lunch. On the menu today is steamed chicken and fermented sauerkraut with rice. There is never more than 150 grams of carbohydrates a day on his plate in the lead up to a fight, to ensure he weighs in at the 69.85 kilogram limit. The pair have toyed with the idea of one day opening a restaurant together, to be named after Tszyu’s dog, Pablo.
Joey Spencer (left) and Tim Tszyu face off during the week.Credit: Getty Images
In the backyard is a sauna, where Tszyu posed for the photos taken by Herald photographer Sam Mooy, and a plunge pool that has been chilled to aid recovery. A beer fridge full of Coronas sits incongruously on the back deck.
“For when friends come over,” Tszyu explains.
The setting is a mile away from the bravado and bullshit that has accompanied Tszyu’s every step towards a world title that he recently relinquished. Your correspondent has shovelled his fair share.
At various stages the “Soul Taker” – it’s a moniker he has reluctantly leaned into – has fuelled the headline hyperbole: I can be the heavyweight champion of the world; I’m on the brink of a $20 million-per-fight payday; I’ll be a household name in America; I’ll take a title fight to Russia; I’m a member of the greatest boxing family in history (that may come to pass, although the Spinks clan has strong claims).
‘Struggle is a part of life. Instead of running away from it, I think we need to embrace it.’
Tim Tszyu
The one thing Tszyu has never said is that he could be better than his old man.
Kostya Tszyu was at a similar mid-career crossroads, when he walked into a flurry of right hands from reformed drug addict Vince Phillips. The upset loss was the catalyst for the pig-tailed pugilist to come back even stronger, on his way to boxing’s hall of fame.
Tszyu jnr believes the loss to Murtazaliev will be his Vince Phillips moment.
“Yeah, I believe so,” he says. “The odds were in our favour and everything played a part, but that doesn’t help you.
“You become a different person after. It changes you, spiritually, mentally, physically – how you approach life, how you see life from all perspectives.
“And your hunger changes.”
Tim Tszyu believes he can again become a world champion.Credit: Getty Images
For the first time since Tszyu’s professional debut, in the loss to Murtazaliev, Kostya was in his son’s corner. Uncharacteristically, Tszyu traded blows with the Russian, rather than displaying the controlled aggression that has been his hallmark. Perhaps, even subconsciously, the 30-year-old was trying to impress his father with his toughness?
“Nah, it wasn’t that at all,” he says. “It was a bit uncomfortable having him, I guess. You’re not used to it. I’d much rather my grandfather [Boris] – quiet, low key as a support – be there for you. It’s a different feel.”
Kostya won’t be ringside at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre on Sunday. The Tszyu clan of Kostya, Tim and Nikita have a record in the city – dubbed Tszyucastle – of 50 fights and zero losses.
“We’ve had some great memories there with the family, so I can’t wait to be back there,” he says.
It is quite the legacy, but not one he wants the next generation to continue. Tszyu plans to have children of his own, but doesn’t want them stepping into the ring.
Tim Tszyu has a lot to prove on Sunday in Newcastle.Credit: Sam Mooy
“No. No way,” he says. “I want my kids to learn boxing, to learn how to defend themselves, to learn how to be able to get away from fights, to stay away from bullies, to be able to defend themselves.
“I wouldn’t want them to fight.”
For now, the punching will be left to Tszyu. Sunday’s result could determine how long he continues. A third consecutive loss will prompt calls for Tszyu to retire. Or worse still, to face Michael Zerafa, a match-up Tszyu has refused to entertain after the latter pulled out of a scheduled showdown.
To avoid that fate, and begin the journey back into world title contention, he must defeat Spencer. By his own admission, he has fallen in the trap of looking past the opponent in front of him, instead focusing on the potential rivals and riches beyond. The mistake won’t be repeated.
“When I was fighting Jeff Horn, I was like, that’s it, we were just going all in,” he says.
“That’s what I want [again], to go all in, not thinking about other shit.”
When speaking about the difference between winning and losing, between knocking someone out and finding yourself on the canvas, Tszyu channels Al Pacino’s character in Any Given Sunday.
“It’s inches, literally inches involved in the sport,” he says. “It’s all about making adjustments to those inches that get you caught and then coming up on top.
“That’s all it is for me, finding those inches, regrouping and finding I’m back.”
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