In a few weeks, WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu takes part in his biggest fight on American soil.
Tszyu will collide with former unified champion Keith Thurman on March 30 at the T-Mobile Arena. The fight will headline a PBC on Prime pay-per-view event.
Initially, Tszyu was slated to face top contender Erickson Lubin, but the contest fell through.
“When you don’t want to fight you overprice yourself, right? But look, I’m not sure what happened. I just know I was training for Lubin. I was told he was the opponent and we were just chasing a date and venue. Then next call I get, we’ve got a date and venue but no opponent. So he didn’t take the fight. That’s it,” Tszyu told Fox Sports Australia.
Tszyu also shot down some of Lubin’s recent statements.
Lubin had suggested that Tszyu should be stripped for facing Thurman in a non-title fight.
“How can he say that? I’ve fought three times this past year. Already defended the belt. So to suggest I be stripped, that’s him being sour. I was happy to put the belt up. And why wouldn’t I be? It’s my belt. I’d also spent six weeks getting ready for [Lubin] when I was told everything had changed. I’d been sparring southpaws in preparation, sparring my brother,” Tszyu said.
There has been talk that a win over Thurman could lead to a showdown with unified welterweight champion Terence Crawford, who would move up in weight to take the fight.
“There have been talks between us. And I give Crawford all respect. He’ll fight anyone. And that’s why I see him as such a great challenge. But I also see him as being beatable. But there’s a lot going on. It could be Crawford, Errol Spence, whichever one is easiest to make. That’s why this upcoming fight means so much … I win and the possibilities are endless,” Tszyu said.