A defiant Tim Tszyu has vowed to “move on” but admitted he has to find “a lot of answers for myself” following his defeat to Bakhram Murtazaliev on Sunday afternoon.
The Australian fighter has lost his last two fights, and Tszyu was knocked to the canvas four times during Sunday’s clash, before his team threw in the towel during the third round.
Having lost his chance to take the IBF super welterweight title from Murtazaliev, Tszyu was stunned after the fight, claiming he knew what had happened in the ring.
Questions have been raised about where Tszyu will go in his career after the devastating loss, and some have even called for him to retire.
But on Monday, the Australian boxer once again reflected on the defeat, saying he will regroup and fight again.
“Look, it is what it is,” Tszyu said.
“They caught me with a shot and I just couldn’t move on.
‘I kept getting up but that wasn’t enough.
‘Congratulations to my opponent for a tremendous performance. But yeah, we move on, we regroup and my team will be back.
Australian boxer Tim Tszyu (pictured) reflected on his loss to Bakhram Murtazaliev in an Instagram video on Sunday.
Tszyu Right was stopped in the third round of his IBF super welterweight title fight against Bakhram Murtazaliev on Sunday.
‘Thank you to PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) and No Limit for always supporting me no matter what.
‘I will be back again and soon I will be in big fights.
‘But now I have to find a lot of answers on my own, of course.
‘The main thing my father told me since I was young was to never give up.
‘If you’re aiming for the stars and crash and burn along the way, keep going. And I’m going to move on.
‘Thank you all.’
Speculation has grown online that Tszyu could face his old rival Michael Zerafa next.
It came after Zerafa criticized Tszyu on social media on Sunday and also called his potential future opponent “average.”
After the fight, Zerafa wrote: “Looks like it’s time to settle our unfinished business @TimTszyu.”
In an interview with The Sydney Morning HeraldZerafa also had
Tsyu stated that he “will also get back to the big fights” and was following the advice his father had given him to “never give up.”
Tszyu was knocked down four times during the three-round fight, with this now being the second loss of his career so far.
“I’ve been saying this for years, Tim has a bad habit of going over his opponents,” Zerafa told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“He goes on to talk about Crawford, (Jermell) Charlo, Canelo (Álvarez) and (Errol) Spence, saying that this is a hand-picked opponent and that he will crush him. Murtazaliev just defended his title for the first time and made fun of Tim .
“He’s sitting there saying he’s going to knock out Crawford and Canelo. I don’t think he has mirrors in his house. If he saw himself in the mirror, maybe he’d wake up.
‘It’s definitely not at that level. I’ve been saying it for years. I’ve said it a thousand times, but because of his last name and that winning streak, everyone is against me. Suddenly my phone didn’t stop and I became side A.
‘I think there is unfinished business for me. He’s human, you take away that last name and you have a normal guy in front of you.’
More to follow…