Tim Tszyu had a tougher go of it than expected Sunday in his return against unbeaten but little-known Denis Nurja – just not so tough, it seems, as to have tripped up his next steps.
Tszyu, now 27-3 (18 KOs), was taken the distance and sustained a significant cut under his left eye but in the end won a lopsided 10-round unanimous decision over Nurja, now 20-1 (9 KOs), at WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong, Australia. But it was the fight postscript that likely drew as much attention as the action in the ring.
It has been an open secret that Tszyu and former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jnr are on a collision course, and when asked about the in-the-works matchup being eyed for a summer date, Tszyu didn’t play coy:
“You know what they say: Catch the big fish,” he said. “Let’s go fishing.”
But even if Tszyu’s rebuild – back-to-back modest wins under the tutelage of Pedro Diaz after a career-spiraling 1-3 stretch – is complete, Spence isn’t just another fish in the sea. A 36-year-old southpaw whose only career defeat came at the hands of recently retired future Hall of Famer Terence Crawford, Spence had been a dominant force at 147lbs. Even if he hasn’t fought since that July 2023 Crawford loss, Spence still could be a serious threat to Tszyu at junior middleweight, or thereabouts.
“Look, I feel like I'm up for it, man. I feel like I'm up for it,” Tszyu said of the Spence challenge. “This guy was tough, you know, no excuses. But I think me and Errol Spence is gonna be one helluva fight. You know, it's a banger. You know how I am – I don't take a backwards step. So if he wants to meet me at the front, bring it on.”
As for Nurja, his resilience surprised Tszyu, who landed a number of big shots against his Sunday opponent. Aside from a fourth-round knockdown, Nurja stayed on his feet. More than that, he kept coming.
“Yeah, he's tough, man,” Tszyu said. “I expected that, you know – 20-0. But no joke. I think I had him a couple times, but – I don’t know – he just didn't drop. But, yeah, those were good rounds, bro.”
Not that Tszyu was carrying Nurja. Quite the opposite, he said.
“That one wasn't actually – I was trying to take him out. I’ll be honest with you,” Tszyu said. “They’re tough out of Europe. Hey, Albania – I didn't expect that, man. Big respect.”
Even if he didn’t exactly escape Sunday’s fight unscathed, Tszyu’s record avoided any further punishment – a contrast to his March 2024 loss to Sebastian Fundora, in which an errant elbow opened a bloody cut on Tszyu’s scalp, obscured his vision and likely catalyzed his first career loss.
Still, the cut will require time to heal, which could make summer a too-ambitious timeline for a Tszyu-Spence fight.
“This time we won with the cut,” Tszyu said. “Can't complain.”
Jason Langendorf is the former Boxing Editor of ESPN.com, was a contributor to Ringside Seat and the Queensberry Rules, and has written about boxing for Vice, The Guardian, Sun-Times and other publications. A member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, he can be found at LinkedIn and followed on X and Bluesky.
