Jeff Horn Looking To Halt The Momentum Of Boxing Royalty Tim Tszyu

Competing against some of the best fighters within the welterweight division, Jeff Horn is not worried about the latest challenge in front of him. The only thing he believes he has to worry about is the last name of his opponent.

Horn (20-2-1) is set to face off against Tim Tsyzu on August 26 inside Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Australia. The two were set to fight in April, but the bout was postponed. This will be one of the first major sporting events in the country since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. Having debuted in 2013, Horn has managed to fight a who’s who of fighters. He believes that Tszyu (15-0) is not experienced enough to fight him.

Tim’s last name, however, has value. His father is Kostya Tszyu, a lineal champion within the light-welterweight division. The 50-year-old is a multi-time medalist and an International Boxing Hall of Famer.

“They’re very serious and very cocky in the way that they think that they’re going to win this fight nice and easy, but he has never fought the opposition I have,” Horn said to Boxing Scene. “He’s got relatively little experience in that manner, and the only reason this fight has been made is because his last name is Tszyu … His father was an absolute legend. We wouldn’t be fighting him if his last name wasn’t his dad’s name.

“If he was Tim Smith, he wouldn’t be getting this far because I’d be looking at bigger and better things. The Tszyu name is red hot. His father is an absolute legend, and that’s exactly why this fight is happening.”

Horn 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 in the rematch back in December. That majority decision win was his last bout.

Tszyu has won plenty of regional titles. He won the IBF Australasian and WBO Global Light-Middleweight Titles from Dwight Richie last August. The 25-year-old last fought in December, beating Jack Brubaker via TKO, his eleventh win via some form of knockout.

According to Sporting News, Tszyu is the betting favorite for the bout. Horn, concerned that the oddsmakers have him at a disadvantage, is ready to once again prove his doubters wrong.

“I can’t believe I’m that much of an underdog for this fight,” Horn went on to say. “But I love being an underdog. It makes me fight to that next level. All these things are in the mix to have me get my biggest victories, and this is going to be one of them. I think this one is a bit of a blowout.”