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Tim Tszyu is not at all interested in a soft touch following his first career defeat.
The Ring has confirmed that early discussions are underway between the teams for Tszyu and and unbeaten knockout artist Vergil Ortiz Jr. The mouthwatering 154-pound matchup is being tabbed to take place on the Aug. 3 Israil Madrimov-Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford card in Los Angeles.
One obvious delay in further advancing the fight is the current schedule. Ortiz (20-0, 20 knockouts) is due to face retread Thomas Dulorme on a DAZN show this Saturday from Fresno, California.
Even with an expected win, sources informed The Ring considerable work remains to finalize the fight. It will not included in the August 3 fights to be announced during Wednesday’s press conference in New York City.
That said, there are legs to the bout’s potential. Rick Mirigian, Ortiz’s manager, acknowledged the possibility of the matchup via social media on Tuesday.
Which bout on this card “IF” Ortiz fought Tszyu are you most excited about and how would you put the bouts in order from most interesting to least @MikeCoppinger @DanRafael1 @JakeNDaBox ????? https://t.co/PUPzOrtAah
— Rick Mirigian (@RGMPROMO) April 23, 2024
Australia’s Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) suffered his lone career defeat, albeit in a valiant effort versus Sebastian Fundora.
Their March 30 bout saw Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) prevail via split decision to claim the WBO and vacant WBC title. Fundora supplanted Tszyu as The Ring’s No. 1-rated junior middleweight. It came at a cost, however, as he suffered a broken nose, which placed him under 180-day suspension.
Tszyu suffered a gruesome cut atop his scalp which turned his face into a mask of blood for much of the bout. Still, The Ring’s No. 2-rated 154-pounder is eager to remain active and face the best available fighters in the division. Should the date hold, it would mark his fifth bout in a span of just 17 months.
Ortiz is also highly motivated to make up for lost time. The 26-year-old Texan did not fight at all in 2023. Illness forced him to withdraw from two scheduled fight dates with Eimantas Stanionis. He hadn’t fought since August 2022 prior to this year’s return.
A career-long 17-month inactive stretch ended in January. However, Ortiz was afforded minimal ring time in a first-round stoppage of Fredrick Lawson.
Their January 6 DAZN headliner saw referee Tony Weeks chastised publicly and officially for the quick stoppage.
Golden Boy Promotions and Mirigian immediately went to work to secure a springtime slot. Ortiz is the co-feature to stablemate and former 140-pound titlist Jose Ramirez, who faces Rances Barthelemy in the main event. Ortiz and Ramirez (28-1, 18 KOs), No. 4 at 140, share the same trainer (Robert Garcia), manager and promoter.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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