Australia’s Tim Tszyu has strenuously backed his corner’s treatment of a nasty head cut which left him basically blinded through 30 minutes of the biggest fight of his career – despite American critics suggesting the dethroned champ had been let down.
After being opened by a nasty Sebastian Fundora elbow in the dying moments of the second round, Tszyu would then fight through 10 more “completely blinded” before eventually losing a split decision to ‘The Towering Inferno’.
During the fight, US analysts questioned if Tszyu’s corner was using the right ointment on the wound while heavyweight promoter Lou DiBella also tweeted afterwards: “There needs to be some analysis of the Tszyu corner. They let the kid down”.
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He then doubled down with a second tweet: “Where. Was. Corner?????? Do you think a Manny Steward or Lou Duva fighter would have been out there for Round 4?”
However, when quizzed about it all afterwards, Tszyu offered a simple “no comment” – which a team representative later explained was the fighter wanting to ensure there were no excuses offered up for his loss.
No Limit CEO George Rose also praised the efforts of Tszyu’s longtime coach Igor Goloubev and cut man Mark Gambin, the latter of whom worked all night on the huge cut on the top of the Sydneysider’s scalp.
Afterwards, Tszyu said the wound had taken a dozen stitches to close, stressed “a bit of blood never killed nobody” and then even wiped at the cut with a tissue while on stage, shrugging “it’s still bleeding”.
He quickly added however that there was no way he was going to stop at any stage, including before the fourth – which would have resulted in a ‘No Contest’.
The fighter and his promoter also stressed there was no more anyone could have done on a night where Tszyu, bravely, and incredibly, almost went and took the win anyway.
“What Tim said is spot on,” Rose said, referencing the decision not to comment on anything that could sound like an excuse.
“He’s not buying into any of that stuff.
“He’s got a great team around him, an absolutely great team.
“And the size of that cut, the position it was in, you saw it gushing out.
“I’m not a (medical) professional but I know they did a very good job trying to contain what was a crazy cut.”
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Rose added soon after: “I’ve got nothing but respect for Tim and his team for the amount of work they put in, because they were so prepared for that fight.
“A freak accident happens like that, with a waterfall of blood pouring into his eyes for 10 rounds, and he didn’t hesitate to get up off his stool and go back to war with a guy who had the odds stacked in his favour.”
Asked afterwards about dealing with the blood, Tszyu said of his corner: “They were just telling me to stay focused.
“I remember going back to the corner, and [the blood] was just like a fountain.
“My eyesight was gone, I literally couldn’t see.
“When you’re fighting with blurry vision, it’s not ideal.”
‘No excuse’ Gutted Tim all class in loss | 01:31
While the ringside physician twice inspected Tszyu’s head, both times he allowed the fight to continue.
The Aussie also said there was no chance he would have allowed his camp to try to have the fight stopped early.
Rose agreed, adding: “Tim Tszyu didn’t lose anything in his stocks tonight.
“It just showed how much of a warrior he is, how ready he is to get in there and put everything on the line.
“The bloke couldn’t see for 10 rounds.
“And he still managed to push it to a split decision.”
Brutal judges decision finishes Tszyu | 01:25