Boasting a new manager and with respected trainer Pedro Diaz now in his corner, Tim Tszyu’s (25-3, 18 KOs) first step on a journey he hopes will take him back to title contention will begin when he meets undefeated heavy-hitting American Anthony Velazquez (18-0-1, 15 KOs) in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday.
What to expect from the new foray forward has been a puzzling proposition for both fans and pundits. Though many have started to wonder whether Tszyu can truly bounce back from recent devastating knockout losses to Bakhram Murtazaliev and Sebastian Fundora, most of the questions have focused on what the rebuild will look like.
As part of the 31-year-old’s recent team shake-up, renowned manager and advisor Mike Altamura was brought on board as a matchmaking strategist to help find an answer to this very problem. In his eyes, the short answer might be best given in the form of one of several adjectives. Patient, calculated, detailed – much like Rome, the road forward won’t be built in a day.
“These fights are about allowing Tim to adjust to the new team, the new training environment, finding his feet again, and being able to launch again as an elite athlete,” Altamura told FightsATW.com.
“I would say it’s as much as anything giving him an opportunity to bounce back, work on the adjustments that he needs to with the new training team, get his mojo back, so to speak, but also to rebuild the brand. People love a winner in our sport.
“You wouldn’t be able to do it unless you had a boxer who possessed elite skills, and although he’s had some bumps in the road, I’ve got no doubt there’s going to be some very bright days ahead for him.”
The same level of optimism will not be found in the opposite corner on fight night, though. Moments after touching down in Australia, Velazquez’s trainer, Hector Bermudez, caused a stir with his blunt assessment of Tszyu, firm in his belief that the ‘Sydney-siders’ best days are behind him, and that his fighter will reopen old wounds.
“They picked the wrong fighter,” Bermudez told the media last week. “I know that when you’re rebuilding a fighter, you don’t pick a puncher. This kid’s got dynamite in both hands.
“Tim is not the same fighter that he was. The human body taking that punishment, being knocked out, deciding that he’d had enough, quitting; that’s not going to be the same fighter.
“Once he feels something, it’s gonna remind him of quitting or getting knocked down.”
By contrast, the Tszyu camp is welcoming the potential knockout threat that the 29-year-old New England native brings ‘Down Under.’ In matching the former WBO 154-pound champion with Velazquez, they’re aware that their combatant cannot afford to make any mistakes. Just as planned, the goal is to see Tszyu bounce back, but not in a manner that creates false hope for fighter and fan alike.
“Every challenge has to bring some credibility,” Altamura said. “With a fighter like Tim, who is an elite operator, who is a pay-per-view drawcard, there’s a responsibility to actually match him credibly and take on legitimate challenges.
“Obviously, we have confidence that Tim will have all the tools to handle Anthony Velazquez, but we know that Anthony Velazquez is very game; he has an over 80 percent knockout ratio, and he’s going to be looking to bring his absolute best.
“He’s going to be looking to level up in this fight. Regardless of any footage we’ve studied, we know there might be some tricks up his sleeve. He might have that extra motivation now that he has the platform. Tim needs to be sharp and on his game.”
Patience, then, is the order of the day, a vital characteristic to the venture. Naturally, the Australian will take the necessary time to acclimatize to the new structure and famed system instilled by Diaz. With that also comes the need for a renewed, inward-facing focus, one aimed at assessing areas of improvement and addressing them in turn.
Speaking to the media during fight week, Tszyu’s comments on the upcoming contest hinted that this may not have always been the case. Perhaps the consistent talk of title unifications, fighting internationally, and potential big-name opponents had created a desire to try and leap forward when taking things step-by-step would have been more appropriate.
“I’ve watched him fight, I see his strengths and his weaknesses, and he’s no bum,” he surmised. “It’s my time now to change the narrative. I don’t care about the cameras anymore, I don’t care about the noise. I’m focused on one job, and that’s getting the victory. That’s it. Simple.”
Now, the grand vision remains paramount, but the rush to achieve it does not. Much like Rome, Altamura hopes that Tszyu will not build the Colosseum by fighting Velazquez, but instead lay the first brick in its foundation.
“By design, any fighter that I work with, it’s exceptionally rare for us to look beyond the fight that’s in front of us,” he concluded. “That’s a very, very dangerous quality to. It’s a very, very dangerous game to be playing, especially in a sport like boxing, where literally 10 seconds can change anything.
“I think it’s good that he’s been locked in on this fight; he needs to be because it is a make-or-break kind of fight, but the way I see it is what I’ve said from day one. I feel like two or three fights of activity, and we’ll be back where we need to be, and the calls are going to come. He’s Tim Tszyu at the end of the day.
“He has a terrific promoter in No Limit who knows how to deliver the opportunities for the fighters; we’ve just got to make sure that all of the boxes are checked so that when he gets there, he’s ready, he seizes the moment, grabs it with both hands, and he will be king again.”
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