Tim Tszyu’s blockbuster fight with Keith Thurman is called off due to freak training injury – here’s why it’s a GOOD thing for the Aussie champ

The stakes have been raised for Tim Tszyu’s Las Vegas debut after American Keith Thurman was forced out of the pay-per-view blockbuster due to a training injury.

Team Tszyu found a replacement for Thurman in towering American southpaw Sebastian Fundora, with the match taking place on March 30 at T-Mobile Arena.

The original Tszyu-Thurman fight was a non-title fight, but now the Australian will put his WBO super welterweight belt on the line while also challenging Fundora for the WBC strap.

Thurman, a former unified welterweight champion, has fought just once since losing to Manny Pacquiao in July 2019.

He won a unanimous points victory against Mario Barrios in February 2022.

But the 35-year-old reportedly tore a muscle in his biceps, which would rule him out of the match against Tszyu.

Nicknamed the “Towering Inferno,” Fundora (20-1-1, 13 KOs) was previously scheduled to fight Serhii Bohachuk for the vacant WBC super middleweight belt on the same March 30 card.

Fundora – who stands 197cm tall – beat 2016 Australian Olympian Daniel Lewis in Las Vegas on a unanimous points decision in 2020.

Fundora’s last fight saw him suffer a seventh-round knockout loss to Brian Mendoza last April.

In contrast, Tszyu won a clear unanimous decision over Mendoza in their clash on the Gold Coast last October.

Many boxing experts are predicting that Fundora could prove to be a tough style matchup for the Australian, despite his recent defeat.