Are We Close To Seeing Jeff Horn Vs. Tim Tszyu?
In the United States, boxing promoters are hoping to have fans in arenas for fights within the next few months. In Australia, that dream is a reality. In one of boxing’s biggest fights of the year, Jeff Horn v. Tim Tsyzu has been finalized for August 26.
The bout will take place in Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium. According to Sporting News Australia, up to 16,000 fans will be allowed in the stadium for boxing’s first fight with fans. This is following the country having 9,000 cases of the coronavirus, with Queensland reporting over 1,000 cases with only one new case over the last 24 hours.
“This blockbuster event will be a big shot in the arm too for the Townsville economy,“ Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk stated.
“Thanks to the great work of the Queensland government we are looking forward to one of the biggest fights in the world to take place,” Horn’s promoter Dean Lonergan stated, via Boxing Scene. “Not many major fights around the world of this nature can take place because of crowd restrictions and the fact that they can’t generate enough revenue to put these fights on.”
The two were set to fight in April, but the bout was postponed due to COVID-19.
Horn (20-2-1) is 4-2 in his last six fights and 2-2 in his last four. Following a controversial win over Manny Pacquiao in 2017 for the WBO Welterweight Title, Horn beat Gary Corcoran before losing the belt to Terence Crawford in 2018. He then beat Anthony Mundine to become the WBO Oriental and WBA Oceania Middleweight Champion. “The Hornet” lost the titles to Michael Zerafa before beating him the rematch back in December. That majority decision win was his last bout.
When it comes to preparing for the bout, Horn is not taking his opponent lightly. He sees Tszyu as him when he fought Pacquiao. Horn is looking to silence his doubters while putting up a good fight.
The son of former lineal Light-Welterweight Champion Kostya Tszyu, Tim (15-0) has won plenty of regional titles. Making his boxing debut in 2016, he won the WBO Global Light-Middleweight Title from Dwight Richie last August. Tszyu’s last bout was in December, beating Jack Brubaker via TKO, his eleventh.