By the midpoint of his March 30 title fight against Sebastian Fundora at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Tim Tszyu looked like a 1970s-era professional wrestler who had bladed himself to draw heat from the fans.
Tszyu's head and face were covered in blood, and never stopped throughout the bout. Though the cut was on the top of his head, it was one of the few times where the referee at least had to consider stopping it because of loss of blood.
The biggest issue, of course, was his limited vision, and he took plenty of clean, hard shots from Fundora, who won a split decision and took the WBC and WBO belts.
The cut also cost Tszyu a planned Aug. 2 bout against Vergil Ortiz that would have been a lights out match.
The cut is healed now, Tszyu said, and he'll return on Saturday in Orlando, Fla., to face IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev in the main event of a card streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
The cut did nothing good for him, but he's trying to draw at least some semblance of a positive out of it.
"My cut from the last fight feels good now," Tszyu said. "It's in the shape of a 'V,' so now I'm saying, 'V for vengeance.' "
Alex Sanchez/PBC
Tim Tszyu works out in preparation for his IBF title fight Saturday on Amazon Prime Video against Bakhram Murtazaliev.
Tszyu is a heavy favorite to hand the 22-0 Murtazaliev his first loss. Tszyu is a -700 favorite at DraftKings sportsbook, with the champion at +450.
Murtazaliev has faced a slightly lesser level of competition than Tszyu, who has fought Fundora and has wins over Brian Mendoza, Tony Harrison, Dennis Hogan and Jeff Horn. But Murtazaliev, who has a three-inch height advantage, is an aggressive fighter who has never been intimidated.
And he's excited that Tszyu has a similarly aggressive style. He is not going to have to find Tszyu, or vice versa.
“The best part of fighting Tim Tszyu is that he won’t run,” Murtazaliev said. “He is coming to fight. I love fighting in the center of the ring. It’s going to be a great fight for the fans to watch."
Tszyu has seen Murtazaliev up close and knew they'd eventually face each other one day. That it's for a world title only makes it all that much sweeter to see Murtazaliev on Saturday.
He has a lot of pent-up aggression over the first loss of his career and the massive cut that led to it, though he tries to downplay and insists he's only looking forward.
But he's been a winner his entire career and the cut made it nearly impossible for him against Fundora. But to get another shot at a title in the kind of fight he feels will suit him is like getting a hot fudge sundae with a couple of cherries on top.
“Murtazaliev is a dog," Tsyzu said. "That always presents a tremendous task. He’s strong and he’s got a competitive edge. I’m looking forward to fighting someone like that.
“I was on the same card as Murtazaliev once and I do remember thinking that he’s a tall guy, but most of my opponents are taller than me. We gave each other a little eye-to-eye, like we knew we’d see each other down the road."
The time has come and Tszyu is ready to claim what he believes is his. It's natural that everyone wants to talk about the Fundora fight because of how impactful the cut was, but Tszyu didn't care to take away from Fundora or to make excuses.
"Coulda, woulda, shoulda," he said. "My last fight is all in the past. I just have to move on and look for answers another way. The biggest lesson I learned from the Fundora fight was to focus on the present."