Tim Tszyu hoping for ‘best version’ of Brubaker
PREPARATION is the blueprint for success for Tim Tszyu.
The 25-year-old from Sydney has become the golden boy of Australian boxing in recent times, but his success has little to do with luck.
The former national titleholder and his dedicated team have meticulously planned every facet of his career thus far, and for his upcoming bout with the exciting Jack Brubaker (16-2-2, 8 KOs), nothing has been left to chance.
With Brubaker providing yet another stern domestic challenge for Tszyu (14-0, 10 KOs), his team made the decision to begin camp in the United States.
As part of the overseas leg of his training camp, Tszyu time spent at both the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas and the Wildcard Boxing gym in Los Angeles.
The experience was one that Tszyu recalls with excitement.
“It was an unreal experience to be in those gyms,” Tszyu told Aus-Boxing.
“It’s a great atmosphere and it gets you psyched for what’s ahead.”
The smell of leather and sweat soaked heavy bags is the same in gyms all over the world but quality of sparring is something that America offers in abundance and that in itself was the main attraction for Team Tszyu 2.0.
“The main thing was to get the kind of sparring that we lacked,” Tszyu said.
“You go into the gym and there’s five to ten young prospects that are all keen to take each others heads off.
“You have to dig in and dig deep and that’s the type of training you want to put yourself through.”
Tszyu is aware that his rise to prominence has him marked as the man to beat for many of Australia’s young fistic talents and that’s exactly why he takes his preparation so seriously.
Brubaker poses as stern a test as Tszyu has faced in his young career thus far but despite this, the Sydney-sider still plans on dominating the action.
“As they say he’s a very entertaining fighter and a walk forward fighter,” Tszyu said.
“Now that he’s training with Jeff (Fenech) I hope that brings out the best in him. I’m expecting him to be the best version of himself.
“It’s going to be interesting, but I plan to dominate the fight.”
Tszyu is confident in his abilities and his preparation is undoubtedly on point but he’s not one to talk trash about his opponents.
Brubaker on the other hand has been quite vocal in the lead up to the bout, but Tszyu is quick to point out that he would rather let his fists do the talking.
“I’m training hard and getting stronger and stronger with each fight,” he added.
“I’m going to let my hands do the talking come fight night.
“He’s got a big mouth and he talks a lot – but I’m going to approach it differently – and let my fists do the talking.”
This will be the third successive time that Tszyu has headlined a pay-per-view show, a testament to his growing fan base domestically.
And while the young fighter and his team have plans of international success in the near future, he cautions that he still has a job to do come December 6th.
“I have a great team behind me that help me and again when an overseas opportunity arises, I will take it,” Tszyu said.
“I have a big 2020 planned which includes overseas fights and maybe TV dates. But I’m not underestimating my opponent. I know I have to get the job done before I can start thinking about that.”
Words: Dan Attias/Follow Dan on Twitter
Photo: Provided