Tim Tszyu weighed in at 153.4 pounds and IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev weighed in at 152.8 pounds at the official weigh-in for their fight this Saturday, October 19 at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. The ceremonial weigh-in will be later.
Nervous Tszyu
Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) appeared nervous during interviews all week. While he spoke in his normal bold manner, his face and body language did not match his words. He clearly knows that the undefeated Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 KOs) is a threat to him and his career.
Tszyu can lose and get knocked out by the great, mighty seek and destroy Murtazaliev. The timing for Tsyu to take on murderous puncher Murtazaliev, which fans feel is a mix of these fighters: Artur Beterbiev, Gennady Golovkin and Sergey Kovalev.
If Tszyu can’t keep Murtazaliev off him on Saturday, he won’t last long because this guy is deadly with his power and combination punches. There’s a reason he was shunned by the top fighters in the 154-lb division and paid walk-off money.
Weights:
Bakhram Murtazaliev 152.8
Tim Tszyu 153.4
“I just said he’s not as tall and as strong as I thought he was,” Tim Tszyu told the media when asked what he said to Bakhram Murtazaliev during their last press conference on Thursday. “He doesn’t look that big.”
It sounds as if Tszyu is trying to boost his own confidence by saying that Murtazaliev did not “seem that big”. When the two fighters came face to face, Murtazaliev looked the taller and more powerful of the two. Tszyu tries to project a false image of fearlessnessdesigned to mask the fear he has of his opponent, Murtazaliev. Tszyu is clearly scared.
You can see it in his face and the way he acts. He knows Murtazaliev could destroy his career by knocking him out on Saturday and permanently ruin his dreams of big money fights against Crawford, Fundora and Spence.
“It’s the battle to prove it as well. I can really show what I’m made of,” Tszyu said when asked if his fight with Murtazaliev would prove he deserves to fight Sebastian Fundora, Terence Crawford and Errol Spence.
If Tszyu loses to Murtazaliev, his hopes of becoming a two-time 154-lb champion will be temporarily derailed, and it will be a second straight loss for the 29-year-old. Additionally, Tszyu’s popularity will be further degraded as he once again failed, but this time against a fighter that casual boxing fans are unfamiliar with. Murtazaliev is not well known to Australians and American fans.
Tszyu cannot afford another loss
A loss to Murtazaliev would make it difficult for Tszyu to get the fights he wants against Crawford, Spence and Fundora. Tszyu will have to work his way back to the top by beating highly rated contenders at 154, and it’s doubtful he can do that in time to get fights against the aging Spence and Crawford.
“I feel it’s a little bit similar to Ocampo. He’s a little more gritty, more skilled,” Tszyu said of Murtazaliev. “I will see in the evening. I really adapt and adapt. People really underestimate my boxing skills. They really think I’m just walking forward. No, no, there is much more to it.”
It sounds like mind games by Tszyu, who compares Murtazaliev to his previous opponent, Carlos Ocampo, whom he knocked out in the first round last year on June 18, 2023. Murtazaliev fights nothing like Ocampo, who was knocked out in the first round by Spence in 2018 and beaten by Fundora in 2022.
“Zero,” Tszyu said when asked if he felt he and Murtazaliev had a somewhat similar fighting style.
“I don’t do it. It’s stupid,” Tszyu said when asked if he ran to make weight for the weigh-in because Murtazaliev saw it. “He also ate chips the other night. It makes no sense at all. No, I don’t think he struggles (to make weight). I think he’s stupid.”
This comment from Tszyu is another example of him trying to get a mental advantage over Murtazaliev, hoping he heard what he said so he wouldn’t be overconfident on fight night. It’s not going to work. Murtazaliev will be confident and aim to knock Tszyu out and potentially end his declining career.
