Thurman Withdraws From Tszyu Fight Due to Injury: "I Apologize to Everyone"
Keith Thurman has pulled out of his highly anticipated fight against Australian boxer Tim Tszyu, scheduled for March 30th. The former unified welterweight champion revealed he sustained a bicep injury during training, forcing him to withdraw from the bout.
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Keith Thurman vs. Tim Tszyu[/caption]
In a statement released today, he expressed his disappointment:
"As you guys already know, my biceps tendon snapped. I saw the doctor today, and we talked about the surgery. We're going to try and get it done next week; the sooner the better so that we can start healing and recovering and then put ourselves back in the beautiful sport of boxing. So, it's very unfortunate. I apologize to everyone who was really looking forward to this competition and who was in my corner trying to support me. It has been rough."
Thurman acknowledged the missed opportunity to fight Tszyu and potentially secure a mega-fight in the future. He wished Tszyu and his replacement opponent, Sebastian Fundora, well for the upcoming bout.
"I apologize to Tszyu," Thurman said. "You wanted to punch me; I wanted to punch you. Hopefully, in the future, we can still make that happen someway somehow, baby. Best of luck to the fight, best of luck to Fundora. Everybody still support and enjoy the show."
The injury also affects the potential for a Thurman vs. Terence Crawford fight. The WBO recently mandated the winner of Tszyu vs. Fundora to face Crawford, who holds the WBO Super Welterweight title.
Tszyu Ready to Take on New Challenge
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Tim Tszyu vs. Sebastian Fundora[/caption]
With Thurman out, Tszyu has accepted Sebastian Fundora as a replacement opponent. The fight will now feature two world titles: Tszyu's WBO Junior Middleweight Title and the vacant WBC Junior Middleweight Title.
Tszyu expressed his confidence in facing a new opponent on short notice:
"This fight is awkwardness – you've got someone that's tall, lanky, whose got a completely different style to Thurman who I've been prepping for eight weeks – but nothing fazes me, nothing worries me. This is unification so there's another belt on the line, another legacy-defining type fight … hopefully one day they will say the Tszyu name is the greatest family to ever step foot inside this boxing world."
Boxing fans will have to wait to see Thurman back in the ring, but the Tszyu vs. Fundora matchup promises an exciting fight for the unified junior middleweight championship.
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