- The 29-year-old lost his world title in a controversial decision
- Was severely cut by the elbow of giant Sebastian Fundora
Tim Tszyu’s return to the ring has been put on hold as his world title fight against American Vergil Ortiz Jr. has been canceled on medical advice.
Tszyu was scheduled to return to the United States on August 3 (local time) to fight on a blockbuster card in Los Angeles headlined by pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford.
The clash with unbeaten knockout specialist Ortiz was for the WBA super welterweight interim world title, with Tszyu preparing off-shore this month and training with his legendary father Kostya in Thailand.
Tszyu (left) and Sebastian Fundora (right) were left covered in blood after the Australian suffered a sickening head wound during their world title fight in March
The Australian lost his title belt in a controversial split decision, with one judge scoring the title in his favor for manhandling Fundora so badly that he required facial surgery.
But Tszyu has been advised to stay out of the ring to give his head wound more time to heal after suffering one of the bloodiest cuts in recent memory against American Sebastian Fundora at the end of March.
The Australian relinquished his WBO super welterweight belt to Fundora in a controversial split-decision defeat in Las Vegas.
Tszyu ran into the elbow of the Towering Inferno late in the second round and suffered a gruesome gash on his head.
The Australian fought ten rounds without full vision and was even awarded a 116-112 victory by one of the judges.
Tszyu had been training hard in Thailand with his legendary father Kostya (pictured together) before receiving the news that his fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr. has been cancelled
The Californian is also out of the ring until at least September after undergoing facial surgery due to the damage he sustained in the fight.
No Limit CEO George Rose said Tszyu was angry about the latest setback.
“We are bitterly disappointed with the setback and Tim is extremely frustrated after a great pre-camp with Kostya,” Rose said in a statement on Friday.
‘He has shown everyone that he will fight through everything against Fundora, but to be honest, this decision has been taken out of his hands.
“Ultimately, it was his body and medical professionals that told him he wasn’t ready yet.”
The WBO has labeled the Crawford-Israil Madrimov fight as an interim title fight, with the winner being next in line to face Fundora.
Fundora management said they would honor a verbal rematch agreement before the WBO stepped in to put that on the back burner.
