Boxing Odds and Ends: The Tszyu Brothers and a Requiem for an old Bantamweight

Tim Tszyu, the face of boxing in Australia and the WBO’s #1 contender at 154 pounds, makes his long-awaited U.S. debut on March 26 on a PBC show in Minneapolis with former U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha in the opposite corner. Although the TV partner isn’t yet official, the bout is expected to headline a Showtime tripleheader.

Tim Tszyu, 27, has a long way to go to match the heights achieved by his famous father Kostya Tszyu who was a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But Tim, currently 20-0 (15 KOs), is well on his way, having literally dominated all of his previous opponents including former title-holder Jeff Horn.

In Australia, at least, Tim has succeeded in escaping Kostya’s long shadow. But get this; years from now Tim Tszyu may be viewed as the lesser of the fighting Tszyu brothers.

Tim Tszyu had a very limited amateur background. Not so his younger brother Nikita Tszyu, 24, who was a four-time Australian amateur champion. Nikita turned his back on boxing to attend college where he majored in architecture, and now, after being away from the sport for five years, he has put a career in architecture on the backburner to see how far boxing will take him.

Nikita made his pro debut on March 3 in Brisbane against Aaron Stahl, a 31-year-old Queenslander with a 2-0-1 record. Stahl didn’t stand a chance. He was on the deck twice and bleeding from a bad cut under his right eye when the referee stopped it in and stopped it in the second round.

Carrying 152 pounds and with his brother in his corner, Nikita, a southpaw, delivered a performance that was flawless. “The kid is special,” said TV commentator Jeff Fenech who is generally considered the greatest Australia-born fighter of the modern era. “He’s got dad’s power – maybe even more in all honesty,” said big brother Tim.

By the way, the brothers, by all accounts, have a cordial relationship with their father although he was seldom around as they were growing up. Kostya Tszyu, who launched his pro career in Australia, returned to Russia where he started a new family with his second wife.

If Tim Tszyu gets by Terrell Gausha on March 26, he is expected to fight the winner of the forthcoming match between Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano. They were supposed to meet a week from Saturday (March 19) in Los Angeles, but Castano suffered a torn biceps in training and the bout had to be postponed. The new date is May 14 with the venue yet to be determined.

Charlo vs. Castano will be a rematch of their fight in San Antonio last July that ended in a draw. All four 154-pound belts will be at stake in the do-over and that will presumably still be the case when Tim Tszyu (barring a mishap in Minneapolis) fights the winner.

Robert Cohen

Robert Cohen was the answer to a trivia question: name the oldest living former world boxing champion. With Cohen’s death this month at the age of 91, that distinction now goes to the great Brazilian boxer Eder Jofre who turns 86 later this month.

Cohen, born in Algeria when that country was a French territory, won the world bantamweight title with a 15-round split decision over Bangkok policeman Chamroen Songkitrat on September 19, 1954. The fight, staged at an outdoor venue in Bangkok, drew a reported crowd of 60,000 that included the King and Queen of Thailand. Cohen and Songkitrat were fighting for the title vacated by Australia’s Jimmy Carruthers who had announced his retirement.

Robert Cohen

The contract for the Cohen-Songkitrat fight was signed at the Thailand Embassy in London with The Ring magazine publisher Nat Fleischer in attendance. “I look for Cohen to win,” Fleischer told reporters. “I believe he is the best bantamweight.”

Fleischer was prophetic. The British referee scored the fight for Cohen, the Thai judge scored it for his countryman, and Fleischer, the other ringside judge, gave it to Cohen. Nat had it 73 ½-72 ½ for the new champion on the antiquated “5-point-must” system.

In retirement, Cohen worked in his father-in-law’s textile business, first in the Congo, a Belgian colony until 1960, and then in Brussels, Belgium where he died on March 2.

Robert Cohen was one of two French Algerian Jews who owned the world bantamweight title during the 1950s. The other was Alphonse Halimi who wrested the title from Italy’s Mario D’Agata in 1957.

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Arne K. Lang’s latest book, titled “George Dixon, Terry McGovern and the Culture of Boxing in America, 1890-1910,” will shortly roll off the press. The book, published by McFarland, can be pre-ordered directly from the publisher (click here) or via Amazon.

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