Bakhram Murtazaliev fears Tim Tszyu’s defence will again cost him against Sebastian Fundora.
Tszyu and Fundora on Saturday contest the WBC junior-middleweight title on the undercard of Mario Barrios-Manny Pacquiao at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.
They previously fought in March 2024 when the aggressive Tszyu, as the favourite, lost via split decision to Fundora after a performance undermined by his suffering a significant cut to the scalp in the second round.
On that evening at the T-Mobile Arena, Tszyu sacrificed both his undefeated record and his WBO title, and seven months later against the IBF champion Murtazaliev he lost again.
The Russian required only three rounds to stop him in Orlando, Florida because of the open target presented to his heavy hands by Tszyu’s aggression and naivety. Despite wanting Tszyu to beat Fundora on account of his belief that Fundora resisted a potential unification match-up between them, Murtazaliev expects Tszyu – better prepared on account of Fundora this time not being a late-notice opponent – to lose again.
“The worst thing is he can’t come forward and throw punches while avoiding them,” he told BoxingScene via his trainer and translator Roma Kalantaryan. “The best part is that he has a lot of stamina and he can push on for rounds.
“I think it’s going to be a good fight.
“I think Fundora is going to win, but I want Tim to win. I think Fundora’s going to pull it off again, but I want Tim to pull it off.”
The 27-year-old Fundora sacrificed the WBO title when he favoured fighting Tszyu, 30 years old and of Australia, instead of Puerto Rico’s Xander Zayas.
“Fundora’s a dumbass,” he continued. “Instead of aiming for the third belt with me, he dropped his second belt – he’s fighting for one belt only. He had no reason to do that. He could have wanted the undisputed [title] for a big legacy; he’s so dumb and stupid, he dropped his belt. He’s going for one belt only.”
