Tim Tszyu’s progress under his new trainer Pedro Diaz is the main reason the Australian is on course to fight again before the conclusion of 2025, according to his co-manager Mike Altamura.
The junior middleweight, 31, recently spoke in glowing terms about the month he has spent with the Cuban in Miami, and revealed that he hopes that a date and opponent for his first fight under him will soon be confirmed.
That his new co-managers Altamura and Darcy Ellis and his advisor Jeff Fenech preached patience in the process of rebuilding his career meant that he wasn’t expected to fight so quickly again.
Having already settled under Diaz, however – he previously separated from his uncle and long-term trainer Igor Goloubev and his manager Glen Jennings – instead of prioritising working solely under Diaz or recovering from the damaging run of three defeats in four fights that led to him transforming his team, Tszyu is set to fight in the hope of recording a victory capable of setting him up for a successful 2026.
He will also, believes Altamura, fight another opponent capable of presenting he and his relationship with Diaz with a worthwhile test.
“The first key component was finding a training camp where he felt settled – it’s very challenging to make any future plan when you have a fighter in flux figuring out what the next step is going to be,” Altamura told BoxingScene. “But in this situation he clicked really well with Pedro; he already had a good baseline conditioning; he’d maintained his own training, and by the time he got over to train with Pedro in Miami there was sufficient time to be able to back up, so that’s why we’re looking at the possibility of a fight before year end or that timeframe [early in 2026].
“The first one back’s going to be a solid opponent, but it’s going to be someone there to push and test him and keep him honest, which is what he needs. You’ll look at it on paper and figure if it’s the best of Tim Tszyu, it’s a fight he handles. You can’t drop the benchmark too low, because you have a pay-per-view to sell – a duty of care to the audience – and he’s an elite fighter, so you can’t forget that and drop a gulf in class, get a few wins and think you’re back. It needs to be opponents at a level that are gonna keep him honest and sharp and on his toes in camp and then, God willing, we’ll see the absolute best on fight night.
“The general approach doesn’t change. ‘Patience’ is giving him every chance to adapt to the new setting, and adapt to the new training environment, and making sure that he’s 100 per cent ready to go and that the right fights are taken with the right timing. Given the market and name value that he brings in the industry – particularly in Australia – it’ll only take one solid win back before the phone starts ringing with countless offers, whether it’s major-title opportunities or other named fighters or whatever it may be, but it’s our job as a team to ensure that when he gets to those moments the next time he’s 100 per cent well prepared and as sharp as possible to win them, because I believe he has all the tools to be the best redemption story in boxing in 2026.
“When we talk about patience he’s still a young fighter; there’s still plenty of time. We’re just giving him every opportunity to find his way back and fall in love again with the sport, which he’s in the process of doing in Miami.”
Tszyu’s former opponent Bakhram Murtazaliev, the IBF champion, is to defend his title against Josh Kelly on January 31, when Xander Zayas and Abass Baraou also fight to unify their WBO and WBA titles.
There, similarly, exists considerable interest in a match-up between Vergil Ortiz Jnr and Jaron “Boots” Ennis, contributing further to the changing landscape at 154lbs that Tszyu and further contenders can potentially take advantage of, but asked if that fight schedule had contributed to Tszyu’s plans for a swift return to the ring, Altamura responded: “The focus for Tim Tszyu needs to be on Tim Tszyu, not where the rest of the division is. It’s about fortifying Tim Tszyu; getting Tim Tszyu back to the fundamentals that saw him ascend to a world championship and putting him in environments where he’s happy and he’s in love with the sport and hungry going to training. That’s where he seems really stimulated.
“The process just needs to be on Tim; nothing’s going to work out of a rush on a play on where the rest of the division is. As long as Tim is building back strong and winning, the opportunities are always going to be present for him, based on name value.
“[Working with Diaz in Miami is] the change-up he needed. Maybe things with Tim just got a little bit stale, which they can – we can all get a little stale in life. Sometimes people need something to re-stimulate their thought patterns and their hunger. The fire’s really burning – he’s developed a really great connection with Pedro Diaz. He wholeheartedly believes in what Pedro’s teaching and what Pedro’s piecing together.
“I’m really looking forward to Tim coming back with a strong performance, especially back home – the Australian public being excited about his career going forward.”
