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IBF #15-ranked junior middleweight Tim Tszyu will challenge Joel Camilleri for the Australian 154-pound title on May 15, 2019 at the Star Casino in Sydney, Australia.
Son Of The Hall-of-Famer
Tim Tszyu is the son of Australian Hall-of-Famer Kostya Tszyu who held multiple 140-pound world titles during his days in the ring. Tim and brother Nikita decided to follow in their father’s footsteps. Big as Kostya’s shoes are to fill, his sons have taken the challenge to build their own names.
24-year old Tim, who stands 5-9 with a reach of 72 inches, turned pro in December 2016 and has fought a total of 12 bouts so far. He’s won all of them, including 10 by knockout. In his seventh fight, he won the WBC continental super welterweight title and in his last fight, he annexed the interim WBA Oceania super welterweight belt. On May 15th, he will try to add the Australian super welterweight title to his trophy case.
This is the first time that the young Tszyu will be fighting in a main event pay-per-view card. He started his training camp in the United States, particularly in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, where he sparred against some of the sport’s best boxers. If he beats Camilleri, he is targeting a fight with either Dwight Ritchie and Michael Zerafa before eyeing a clash with Australian star Jeff Horn.
Shutting Down The Hype
Joe Camilleri has seen the pre-fight promotions talking mostly about Tszyu. The 28-year old local boxing star from Keilor Downs in Victoria, Australia says he plans to shut down the hype by knocking out his inexperienced foe. Camilleri holds three belts: the Australian super welterweight title, the World Boxing Council Asian Boxing Council welterweight title and the Victorian state super-welterweight title.
Known as Cama KO for his knockout power, Camilleri has a record of 17-5-1 with 8 knockouts. The champion stands 5-9 ½ with a reach of 69 ½ while fighting out of the orthodox stance. In his last bout, Camilleri delivered one of the best performances of his career as he knocked out Billy Limov in five rounds to win the Australian super welterweight title.
Camilleri’s win over Limov came three days after he suffered food poisoning. But instead of pulling out of the bout, he fulfilled his dream of winning the title he had been eyeing since he started boxing. Now he has a chance to burst in the spotlight by beating one of Australian boxing’s royal names.
Who Wins?
This is an interesting fight between two local fighters who are aiming to to move up the ladder in the Australian ranks. Between the two, Camilleri definitely has more fighting experience, having fought since 2012. The champ also has more fights against better (but not necessarily good) fighters.
That’s why it’s interesting why a novice who started his pro career three years ago and only has a dozen fights to his credit is the boxing betting favorite in this title fight. Of course we know that the name Tszyu is royalty in Australia and that’s probably one of the reasons why Tim Tszyu is favorite here. However, I think the betting sites are too high on him by putting him at -400 against a proven veteran who’s never been knocked out before.
Camilleri isn’t an elite world-class talent but he packs power in his punches and has a proven chin. He also has good movement and can box if needed. Against most of Australia’s good boxers, he has proven himself. Tszyu cannot say the same although we can’t say he can’t win just because he hasn’t had the opportunity to fight better fighters. He’s taken his boxing career slowly and his career is carefully plotted.
But make not mistake, the son looks like a reincarnation of his father. His stance, the determination in his eyes and his belief in himself is unmistakable. He still needs plenty to improve on but there is no doubt, he is a warrior like his dad was. More importantly, he packs the punching power that made his father the “Thunder from Down Under”.
I think Tszyu tries to end this one early. He hasn’t gone past round six and I think Camilleri will have a better chance to win if this fights goes longer. Camilleri won’t be easy to stop but his come forward style leaves many openings that Tszyu can take advantage of. If he won’t stop Camilleri, Tszyu is going to slow him down and his output as well. It’s going to be close and I don’t think there will be a stoppage here. In a close decision, I’m siding with the fan-favorite and the bigger name. Prediction: Tim Tszyu
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