‘Tim has left the building’: Tim Tszyu’s disappearing act amid Keith Thurman ‘distraction’ claim

Tim Tszyu is so determined to avoid the looming shadow of Keith Thurman that he deliberately bypassed a waiting pack of journalists after working in commentary for Wednesday night’s No Limit pay-per-view.

“Tim has already left the building,” Tszyu’s manager Glen Jennings grinned, standing backstage only minutes after Thurman had viciously stopped Brock Jarvis in their brief, yet brutal, Hordern Pavilion headliner.

A finish too which thanks to a pair of savage left hands from the future Hall of Famer, immediately turned all focus towards an already proposed Tszyu showdown on the Gold Coast come July 6.

And who can blame us, right?

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“Yeah, great fight – great fight,” Jennings agreed when pushed on the idea of his man facing the superstar who has never lost to anyone not named Manny Pacquiao.

“Keith Thurman, he’s very cagey.

“And you know he never got out of second gear (against Jarvis).

“Was just doing all he needed to do.”

And an easy headliner to make, correct?

“Oh 100 per cent,” the manager said.

“The reason we say we don’t look forward, that’s Tim … but from the business side, I’ve got to look way ahead.

“And (a Thurman fight) is an exciting opportunity.

“We’ve talked about it.

“We were going to fight him last year.

“It makes sense.

“And all those things will fall into place in the right time frame.

“But the Tim Tszyu that just left this building is not distracted by Keith Thurman one iota.

“He’s back sparring tomorrow.

“There is nothing on his mind but Joey Spencer.”

At which point, Jennings nodded towards Tszyu’s car driving away.

“He’s not commenting on it,” he grinned.

“He’s zoned in on April 6, totally focused on Joey Spencer.

“It’s only three-and-a-half weeks away.

“So while he got to see Keith Thurman tonight, I don’t see it as a distraction at all.

“You’d be very hard pressed to get Tim distracted at the moment.”

Almost a year to the day since they were initially meant to headline in Las Vegas, Tszyu watched from ringside as Thurman needed less than three rounds to viciously beat up No Limit stablemate, Brock Jarvis.

Already, there have been suggestions a Thurman/Tszyu fight has been agreed to for April 6 on the Gold Coast – with ‘The Soul Taker’ a $1.23 favourite to beat Spencer, his next opponent, in Newcastle on Sunday, April 6.

Spencer, meanwhile, is paying $4.75.

Yet after having recently admitted to looking past rivals last year, when beaten in consecutive world title fights against Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev, Jennings stressed Tszyu is now focused only on his next rival, a two-time PBC ‘Prospect of the Year’.

Elsewhere, the fight manager also said there was no chance of Tszyu throwing down against longtime rival Michael Zerafa, who likely broke his hand on the way to finishing Germany’s Besir Ay in the co-main event.

Jennings said ‘Pretty Boy’ was, however, still a chance of this year facing Nikita Tszyu, who is understood to be preparing for a June return to the ring.

While Thurman completely demolished Jarvis atop Wednesday night’s entertaining Sydney card, Jennings also conceded it would be a far different fight with the elder Tszyu sibling, a former world champion.

“Totally different,” he agreed.

“Tim and Keith will be two high level, skilled fighters going at it.

“It’s a totally different fight.

“And the interesting part for me, in Tim’s current mental state, where he knows and has learned, is focused and bearing down on everything he has to do, I think it will be a cracking fight, I really do.”

But first, Spencer.

“Which is going to be an amazing night,” Jennings continued. “I look forward to seeing Tim Tszyu come back into Newcastle, and show us just how he’s come back.

“It’s a super exciting night.

“And Keith Thurman in the background, it adds that extra level of excitement.”

Asked about the chances of Tszyu ever throwing down against Zerafa, who famously pulled out of a hyped 2021 Newcastle headliner between the pair, Jennings replied: “No, that won’t happen.

“That decision was made in Newcastle and we’ve never budged.

“There is always talk, and No Limit will say ‘yes it can happen’.

“But we’re saying ‘no, it’s not’.

“That’s Tim’s thoughts on it.

“He’s moved on.

“And I’m sure Michael has too.

“But if there is any chance of Michael s*** stirring a fight, I’m sure he is going to.

“And we respect that.

“He had a good win tonight and I hope he goes on to bigger and better things.

“He may get his wish to fight a Tszyu, but I think it may be Nikita.”

So no dollar figure that could bring Pretty Boy and Tim Tszyu together?

“I can tell you in Tim’s mind, there is no dollar figure,” Jennings stressed.

“It’s almost a … I don’t know what you’d call it … but for Tim it’s a stand your ground point.

“Just because of how it all went down.

“And people can say ‘get past it’.

“Tim has chosen to move on, go for higher levels … so it’s really not a question of why won’t he fight (Zerafa), it really just doesn’t make much sense.

“We’ve got plans for Tim, and Michael doesn’t feature in that.

“I can’t say it won’t ever happen.

“It might be the last fight of Tim’s career if they’re still around.

“They might be 50.

“I don’t know.

“But right now in Tim’s mind his focus is elsewhere and has been for a long time.”

Elsewhere, Jennings also heaped praise on a gutsy Jarvis, saying: “I’ve got to say – and I really mean this – the credit goes to Brock, for a young Aussie buck to step in against someone like that and have an absolute red hot crack.

“Good on him.

“It makes you proud that the young guys are willing to do that.

“He’ll come back better from it.

“But when you go in with Keith Thurman, you’re going in with an elite level fighter … even after three years off.

“And he showed tonight, it’s like he’s never been out of the ring.

“It’s like riding a bike, the skillset never goes away.

“Keith showed tonight that he’s levels above.

“And he will bring that to the ring going forward, getting better and better.”

While it was suggested Jarvis would only go into a Nikita Tszyu headliner with a win, Jennings stressed there remained a chance that fight could still be made.

“I think so,” he said.

“We’ll see how Brock recovers and what he wants to do.

“Nikita is still fairly early in his career so there are opportunities left, right and centre for him.

“But getting guys to commit to Nikita, that isn’t easy.

“And for Brock, coming off a loss, it would be difficult to jump in with someone like Nikita.

“You’ve got to give him time now to sort himself out.

“But I’m excited for both Tim and Nikita.

“I think they’re really going to light up this year, 2025 is going to be fun for both of them.”