Tim Tszyu’s scheduled Las Vegas debut is in doubt after American Keith Thurman was forced out of the pay-per-view blockbuster with a training injury.
Team Tszyu are scrambling to find a replacement, with Sebastian Fundora the frontrunner, so the headline act can go ahead on March 30 at T-Mobile Arena.
Thurman, a former unified welterweight champion, has fought just once since losing to Manny Pacquiao in July 2019.
He scored a unanimous points win over Mario Barrios in February 2022.
But the 35-year-old is believed to have torn a bicep muscle, ruling him out against Tszyu.
Their slated showdown was to have been a non-world title fight.
It is hoped No Limit Boxing boss George Ross will reach a deal for Tszyu, the undefeated WBO super welterweight champion, to take on Fundora instead.
Nicknamed the “Towering Inferno,” Fundora (20-1-1, 13 KOs) is slated to fight Serhii Bohachuk for the vacant WBC super middleweight belt on the same March 30 card.
Fundora defeated 2016 Australian Olympian Daniel Lewis in Las Vegas on a unanimous points decision in 2020.
BoxingScene in the US is reporting that negotiations were underway to finalise Tszyu-Fundora, with an official saying it could even be stamped as a unified title fight with both the WBO and WBC belts on the line.
Source Agencies
