Tszyu vs Fundora Predictions: It’s Tim’s time

WBO super welterweight king Tim Tszyu gets a chance to double his world title haul this weekend, with the vacant WBC also up for grabs in his Saturday March 30 collision with Sebastian Fundora. ‘The Soul Taker’ steps outside of his Australian home base for the first time as he boxes at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Amazon Prime PPV carry this intriguing world title clash.  Read on for Betfred Insights’ Tszyu vs Fundora predictions.

Tszyu is the son of the iconic long-time super lightweight champion Kostya Tszyu. Being the son of a Hall of Famer is a double-edged sword, with countless examples of famous progeny falling by the wayside. Just last weekend, Campbell Hatton, son of the great Ricky ‘The Hitman’, lost his challenge for James Flint’s Central Area title. But so far Tszyu has avoided the pitfalls that come with living up to a legend and has secured a world title of his very own.

It was a long road to securing that belt for the Australian. Tszyu was originally supposed to get his world title chance against then-undisputed super welterweight boss Jermell Charlo. The bout’s on-again-off-again nature eventually gave way to evaporation. Charlo signed on to bulk up through two divisions and meet undisputed super middleweight don Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. A money-spinner for sure, but a bout with very little worth considering the weight discrepancy.

By this point, Tszyu was the reigning WBO interim champion by virtue of a March 2023 victory over Tony Harrison. When Charlo made his leap of bad faith, ‘The Soul Taker’ was upgraded to the office of full champion. While this isn’t how any boxer would choose to lift their maiden world title, Tszyu did at least ratify his status with an impressive points win over Brian Mendoza.

With the other sanctioning bodies removing their titles from Charlo after his loss to ‘Canelo’, it is now the turn of the WBC to fill their vacancy. Unusually, they have chosen a fight involving a reigning champion in which to do it. In the fractious world of pro boxing it is refreshing to see some semblance of sanctioning body cooperation. The championship cabals usually look to keep their belts separate whenever possible.

As for who will be leaving with the double-helping of hardware, Tszyu sits as a 1/5 favourite with a perceived 83.3% chance of triumph. He is unbeaten, which helps. While a lot of his 24 wins came on a steady diet of underdogs like former champion Jeff Horn or fringe contender Takeshi Inoue, his level of competition has improved. 

Harrison and Mendoza were solid names dealt with well. One certainly couldn’t complain about his one-round blitz of Carlos Ocampo. He lasted a full 12 with Fundora before Tszyu consumed him. Errol Spence Jr had done Ocampo in one round of a 2018 world title challenge, so Tszyu is in good company.

Bringing things full circle, Fundora’s sole professional defeat was at the hands of Mendoza. That came through a seventh-round stoppage, which doesn’t bode well for this one. Staying with the theme of star-crossed super welterweights, Fundora also suffered a knockdown before beating Erickson Lubin, who had previously lost in a round to Charlo. Uncommonly for modern boxing, super welterweight truly is a division where everyone is willing to fight everyone. 

As for the fight we have right here, I think it is Tszyu’s for the taking. Heavy-handed and sharp, it feels like the Australian’s time is upon us. Unbothered by Charlo’s reluctance to face him, he has simply gone about the business of establishing himself as the new man to beat at 154 pounds. Fundora isn’t the man to beat him. A Tszyu knockout during rounds 4-6 is priced at 3/1 and that is exactly where I’m going with my prediction. Tim Tszyu isn’t his Dad, but he is a force in his own right. 

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