Tszyu tries to replicate the Sebastian Fundora playbook, but the comparison shows exactly why his new versus old logic feels so flawed.
On March 28, Fundora successfully defended his WBC title by stopping Keith Thurman in the sixth round. Fundora used a big name, inactive veteran to legitimize his reign, and Tszyu is clearly trying to do the same with Errol Spence.
“Look what happened with Thurman. Errol Spence is kind of in that generation, and that’s what I want to do, now bring the new with the old,” Tszyu told Brian Custer’s website.
When Fundora beat Thurman, he was a champion defending a belt. When Tszyu talks about doing the same to Spence, he does so as a contender who has lost twice to Fundora. Fundora used a veteran to consolidate power. Tszyu uses a veteran to reconstruct a shattered reputation.
If he beats a 36-year-old Spence who hasn’t fought in three years, it just proves he can beat a legendary welterweight who’s been away for too long.
In the current 154-lb division, the “new” guys are Xander Zayas and Vergil Ortiz Jr. At 31, with a recent 2-3 record in high-level fights, Tszyu is closer to the “old” generation he claims to be replacing.
Tszyu is banking on the Spence name to act as a reputation eraser. He hopes that if he knocks out a legend, everyone will forget that he was dropped multiple times by Murtazaliev and out/stopped by Fundora.
Beating a wilted Errol Spence won’t give him the height to handle Fundora’s reach or the chin to withstand Murtazaliev’s power if they meet again. It’s a massive payday, rumored to be $15 million, but as a statement of dominance it’s more of a marketing illusion than a sporting reality.
