'Little pussycat': Tim Tszyu taunts rival in bold boxing statement
Tim Tszyu has wasted no time taking aim at one of his biggest rivals after returning home from a hugely successful United States fight debut.
The 27-year-old marked his first ever fight on American soil with a commanding unanimous points victory over former Olympian Terrell Gausha in Minneapolis.
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Despite being floored in the opening round, it was largely one-way traffic after that early hiccup as Tszyu dominated the fight to extend his unbeaten record to 21-0.
Tszyu is now in line to fight the winner of the super welterweight division's unified title fight between Brian Castano and Jermell Charlo.
American Charlo holds the WBC, IBF and WBA super welterweight titles, while Argentina's Castano is the WBO champion, with the pair set to duke it out on May 14.
Touching down in Sydney on Tuesday after his win over Gausha, Tszyu had a few choice words to say about Charlo when asked for his thoughts on how that title rematch would unfold.
“Charlo the other day made a video, started barking up at me, the little pussycat can say what he wants,” Tszyu told Fox Sports after tipping Castano to beat the American.
Tszyu is still buzzing after his successful US debut, and says it's just the first step in his grand plan for world domination.
“It was just a buzz. I’ve watched all this stuff on TV and to experience it first-hand was unreal,” Tszyu said.
“I wouldn’t move there. Australia is my home. I do want to fight here in Australia but there is something [in America], when I got there it was like a new chapter, a new beginning, I want to conquer America and conquer it for the next 10 years. Once you conquer America, you conquer the world.
“I reckon I belong there [in America]. That is the place I want to be.”
The 27-year-old says his victory over Gausha has opened up doors in the United States, and given him invaluable exposure in the world's richest boxing market.
“Terrell is a top fighter. All the boys know him there and to be able to take him out [is good],” Tszyu said.
“He’s a boxer and in the top five in the division as well. After the first round, I felt like I was in control the whole time. I was dominating.
“He was in a world of trouble and it was a good feeling. I was the headline on a Showtime pay-per-view in America, that was massive and know everyone knows.
“Errol Spence was talking about, Charlo was talking about it. They were all watching and they all know, so they are some intriguing fights to be made, some super fights to be made and I’m glad I’m noticed now. Not just noticed but everybody knows me there now.”
Aussie greats issue warning for Tim Tszyu
Retired Aussie boxing great Anthony Mundine on Monday warned Tszyu not to make any rash decisions about jumping into a title fight in the United States, insisting that the 27-year-old was not quite ready.
“It’s a bit premature for him (Tszyu) to be fighting Charlo or Castano,” Mundine said.
“I don’t think he’s up to it yet. It’s a big step up in class. He made some mistakes (against Gausha) and he needs to learn from them.
“He should have another three, four, five fights in America after tough opponents before fighting for the world title.
“He’s still got to work on his craft.”
Tszyu admits that he still has "everything" to learn in the boxing game, with another former Aussie world champion Jeff Fenech claiming the Gausha bout proves the young Aussie is still far from being the finished article.
"The performance was great," Fenech said.
"But there were so many different things that I've seen today that he can fix.
"He wasn't slipping to the side, making the jab miss and coming over with the right hand. He was trying to go straight through it.
"He was leading with the left hook, which left him open for the straight right hand.
"And the biggest thing was those pity-pat punches, where he was trying to set one big one up. instead of just getting to the side and working the body and then coming up."
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