Tim Tszyu’s next fight confirmed.
For a period of time, Tim Tszyu seemed like Australian boxing’s next big thing.
The son of Hall-of-Famer Kostya Tszyu, Tim began to separate himself from the typical son-of-a-legend pack when he stopped Tony Harrison in 2023. This was followed by a one-round destruction of Carlos Ocampo to win the WBO interim super-welterweight title.
Tszyu was upgraded to full WBO champion after Jermell Charlo chose to challenge Canelo Álvarez for his undisputed super-middleweight crown. Tszyu would defend his new belt by knocking seven (or eight) bells out of the titanium-jawed Brian Mendoza.
After a planned fight with Keith Thurman fell through, Tszyu took on the lanky, long-limbed Sebastian Fundora in a fight that was for his WBO belt and the vacant WBC title.
Both men would look like zombies by bout’s end, with Fundora having continuously bled from a cut inside his mouth and Tszyu having profusely bled from a terrible cut on his head caused by a collision with Fundora’s elbow.
Tszyu would lose a split decision, with Fundora pocketing the unified titles.
Given the close nature of the defeat, many didn’t think much less of Tszyu following the fight. However, it became clear just how bad the cut had been after it was the cause of a scheduled war with Vergil Ortiz Jr. collapsing.
Then Tszyu suffered a third-round stoppage loss to Bakhram Murtazaliev that saw him violently dropped four times in a failed bid for the IBF title.
Tszyu looked good in his next fight, stopping Joey Spencer. However, he would then lose a rematch to Fundora, a much more convincing defeat that saw him dropped and stopped in seven.
Since then, Tszyu has beaten the previously undefeated Anthony Velazquez, and his next fight has now been announced.
Tszyu (26-3, 18 KOs) will be taking on Albania’s Denis Nurja (20-0 (1), 9 KOs) for the WBO international middleweight title.
Not much of substance exists on Nurja’s résumé, though he does have a curious no-contest against Placido Ramírez, who previously fought current IBF super-welterweight champion Josh Kelly.
A win for Tszyu could mean an interesting clash with Errol Spence Jr., which is expected to take place this summer and would provide answers for where both men currently are in terms of ability.
Tszyu’s contest with Nurja will take place on the 5th of April at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
ANNOUNCED: Tim Tszyu will face Denis Nurja on April 5 in Wollongong, New South Wales.
Tszyu could potentially face Errol Spence later this should he defeat Nurja. pic.twitter.com/aDSRnbrMSm
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) March 10, 2026
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