Tim Tszyu will not fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. on August 3rd at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) can’t take the fight because his cut from last March is still healing and will not be ready by August.
It will take more time before he’s ready to return to the ring. Tszyu, 29, suffered the cut in his twelve-round split decision defeat against Sebastian Fundora on March 30th. That defeat also cost him his WBO 154-lb title.
It would have been tough for Tszyu to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. (21-0, 21 KOs) with the still-healing cut, which might have opened up once he started taking shots. Ortiz Jr. is the wrong type of fighter for Tszyu to be facing at least 100%.
Many boxing fans on social media felt that Vergil would have beaten Tszyu because he’s fighting at a high level now that he’s moved up to 154.
There’s no word yet on when Tszyu will return to the ring or whether he’ll try to reschedule a fight against Ortiz. Ideally, he will face Fundora in a rematch or Terence Crawford, but that’s unlikely.
Crawford is fighting in the main event of the August 3rd card against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov. If Crawford wins that fight against Madrimov, he will face the Fundora vs. Errol Spence Jr. contest.
Tszyu’s promoters need to consider bringing him back slowly to prevent another cut on his scalp. He can’t fight the best fighters until he’s completely healed.
“We are bitterly disappointed with the setback, and Tim is extremely frustrated after a great Pre-camp with Kostya,” said George Rose, the CEO of No Limit Boxing, about Tszyu’s injury.
“He showed everyone that he’ll fight through anything against Fundora, but this decision was taken out of his hands, to be honest. Ultimately, it was his body and medical professionals telling him he wasn’t ready yet.”
