The stakes have been raised for Tim Tszyu’s Las Vegas debut after American Keith Thurman was forced out of the pay-per-view blockbuster with a training injury.
Team Tszyu have found a replacement for Thurman in towering American southpaw Sebastian Fundora, with the headline act going ahead on March 30 at T-Mobile Arena.
The original Tszyu-Thurman fight was a non-title bout, but now the Australian will place his WBO super-welterweight belt on the line while also challenging Fundora for the WBC strap.
Thurman (pictured left with Tszyu when their fight was announced in February) has reportedly torn his biceps muscle in training
Towering 197cm southpaw Sebastian Fundora has replaced Thurman on the card
Thurman, a former unified welterweight champion, has fought just once since losing to Manny Pacquiao in July 2019.
He scored a unanimous points win over Mario Barrios in February 2022.
But the 35-year-old is believed to have torn a biceps muscle, ruling him out against Tszyu.
Nicknamed the ‘Towering Inferno,’ Fundora (20-1-1, 13 KOs) was previously slated to fight Serhii Bohachuk for the vacant WBC super middleweight belt on the same March 30 card.
Fundora – who stands an imposing 197cm tall – defeated 2016 Australian Olympian Daniel Lewis in Las Vegas on a unanimous points decision in 2020.
The Aussie junior middleweight world champion (pictured, right, on his way to victory over Brian Mendoza) is now desperately trying to find a stand-in so the March 30 bout goes ahead
Fundora’s last bout saw him suffer a round-seven knockout loss to Brian Mendoza last April.
In contrast, Tszyu won a clear-cut unanimous points decision over Mendoza when they clashed on the Gold Coast last October.
Many boxing pundits are predicting that Fundora might prove to be a tough style match-up for the Aussie, despite his recent loss.