Tim Tszyu has initially been cleared of any serious trauma but has delayed his return to Australia to recover from his brutal beat-down in Florida.
Tszyu was left heavily concussed from his battering at the hands of ruthless Russian Bakhram Murtazaliev in Saturday night’s (Sunday AEDT) IBF super-welterweight mismatch.
Tszyu’s brother Nikita eventually threw in the towel midway through the third round after Australian boxing’s golden boy was sent crashing to the canvas four times at the Caribe Royal resort in Orlando.
Immediately after the TKO, the distraught 29-year-old was struggling to comprehend the ambush that had just taken place.
“What the f*** just happened? What did I get hit with?” he said on Main Event.
“I couldn’t regroup. I don’t know, man. Shit doesn’t go your way and you just have to bounce back.
“I was positive after Fundora, but I’ve got to find more answers from this one. This didn’t go according to script.”
As Team Tszyu pondered the fallen world champion’s next move, No Limit Boxing boss Matt Rose said his health and welfare must come first.
“Most importantly, he’s woken up OK,” Rose told AAP on Monday.
“Probably more than anything is the mental process of going back what happened last night.
“Physically, he’s a lot better today. Obviously had a concussion last night, but he went to hospital — we wanted him to go for precautionary reasons.
Bakhram Murtazaliev knocked Tszyu to the canvas four times in three rounds. (Getty Images: Alex Menendez)
“He was OK from that point of view, so he’ll rest up for a couple of days now.
“Once he gets back to Australia, we’ll do some more testing to make sure he’s OK.
“The most important thing when you’re in fights like that is to ensure you do the right check-ups.”
As speculation already swirled that Tszyu would finally settle his differences in a grudge match with fellow Australian Michael Zerafa, Rose said it was far too early to make a call on his charge’s next move.
“I’m not a doctor. I can’t answer those questions,” Rose said when asked if the Sydney fighter needed an extended lay-off before entering the ring again.
“It will be purely up to where Tim’s at and from a medical point of view, when he can fight next.
“I’m not sure.”
Tszyu’s mother, Natasha, wants her son to spend time in Russia to undertake a gruelling training camp after watching him stray from his trademark methodical boxing against the power-punching Murtazaliev, who offered to train with him.
He said after the fight he “had a great prep” and felt “unbelievable” going in.
Kostya Tszyu (left) surprised Tim in Orlando days before the fight. (Supplied: No Limit Boxing)
Tszyu’s legendary father, Kostya, was ringside in Florida to watch his son fight live for the first time in eight years.
But asked if Kostya had expressed any interest in taking on a more hands-on role with Tszyu’s training, Rose said that was not his decision, amid calls for the former WBO strap holder to tinker with his entourage.
“That would be totally up to Tim,” Rose said.
“I don’t get involved in the training aspect of things. Obviously, his trainers’ training and what they’ve done has been exceptional right up to this and I thought, physically, Tim was fine last night in terms of how he turned up.
“He looked great. He said it was the best he’d ever felt.
“We’re in a hard game. It’s boxing. Tim’s got to get punched in the face or punched in the head and sometimes things go wrong.
“Last night was one of those things where he got caught and couldn’t recover.
“He showed great bravery and, to be honest, there’s no other fighter like him. He’s a true warrior.”
AAP/ABC
