Tszyu versus Ali, a clash between two of the most famous families in boxing, could happen on Australian soil this year.
Muhammad Ali’s grandson, Nico Ali Walsh, has expressed interest in coming to Australia to fight Nikita Tszyu. The undefeated American middleweight, speaking to Fox Sports after defeating Eduardo Ayala in Phoenix last weekend, said: “I don’t know too much about the Tszyu brothers but, obviously, I’ve heard of them.
“And I definitely want to have a fight down there in Australia – I love it.
“I’ve never been, but Mum has. I have fans down there, and I’ve only ever heard amazing things. So, I guess time will tell. If it’s supposed to happen, it will happen.”
There have already been informal talks between Tszyu and Ali Walsh’s promoters, No Limit and Top Rank, about the prospect of a blockbuster clash. The best-case scenario would be for Tim Tszyu – who is gunning for Tony Harrison and undisputed champion Jermell Charlo – to hold a world title defence on home soil this year on a card also featuring Nikita Tszyu versus Ali Walsh.
Nikita Tszyu, who will face Tasmanian Bo Belbin on the undercard of the Tszyu-Harrison event on March 12 in Sydney, wasn’t aware of Ali Walsh’s interest until told by The Sun-Herald and The Age.
Nico Ali Walsh and Nikita Tszyu. Credit:Getty
“I didn’t think he’d know me,” Nikita said. “Interesting. It would be a cool fight. Of course, in time, I would love to get that going.
“He’s very skilful; some nice knockouts to his highlight reel. I haven’t properly watched any of his fights, I’m more of a highlight watcher. It’s got some merit to it.”
The fight would be a marketer’s dream. Muhammad Ali is widely considered the greatest boxer of all time, while the Tszyu legacy was established by Hall of Famer Kostya. However, Nikita’s immediate focus is on Belbin, who has won all seven of his professional fights, five via knockout.
The March bouts will be the first time Tim and Nikita have fought professionally on the same day, which will create emotional and logistical challenges.
“I don’t think [Tim] will be watching,” Nikita said. “I also don’t want him to. I want him to focus on the target he has because Harrison is no joke, no walk in the park.
“It’s a proper fight, if anything he could be tougher than Charlo. He needs that focus, to not be distracted, because he gets really worked up when I fight, and vice versa.
“I need to do my job, and then I have another stressful [experience]. There will be a lot of mixed emotions.
“It’s a tough business that we’re in, not for the faint-hearted. It’s what we’re brought up with, it’s in our DNA. It’s what we’re used to and where we are most comfortable, in this chaos. That’s where we shine.”
The Tszyu family’s coach, Igor Goloubev, has been training the siblings at different times of the day for their respective fights.
“Training us isn’t easy,” Nikita said. “Whenever we do pads with Igor, you can see him absolutely drenched wet. It’s a workout for him, he has to cop body shots on the body bag, it’s not easy and he needs to recover as well.”
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