Former WBO super welterweight champion Tim Tszyu is slated to return to the ring on October 19th against IBF super welterweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev. This will be the Aussie’s second fight of 2024 and first since losing his WBO strap to Sebastian Fundora in March earlier this year. In the meantime, the upcoming bout has been labeled ‘misplaced.’

The IBF title fight at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida, will be live on Amazon Prime Video for their subscribers free of cost. Despite being a non-pay-per-view event, the move seems to have irked boxing insider and veteran matchmaker Rick Glaser, who wrote on X, “The #TimTszyu fight on regular subscription #AmazonPrime scheduled for this Saturday in Orlando is DOA, Dead On Arrival, there’s no tickets being sold.”

Glaser is well known for his disdain for PBC and has been critical of every move the boxing promotion has made. So, after learning about the streaming details of the fight in Florida, he seems to have lost his cool. “Why would #PBC & #Tszyu Promoter #NoLimit put that fight in #Orlando, it’s so misplaced of a fight,” he continued.

It’s worth noting that Tszyu is from Australia, where he is quite popular. However, this will only be his second fight in the States against a boxer from Russia. To top it off, the undercard for the fight doesn’t seem all that exciting either, with Cesar Mateo Tapia vs. Endry Saavedra as a middleweight bout. 

Yoenis Tellez vs. Johan Gonzalez in the super welterweight, Dainier Pero vs. Willie Jake Jr. in heavyweight, and Justin Viloria vs. Diuhl Olguin in the super featherweight. However, despite the unassuming card, Tszyu and Murtazaliev have been exchanging some trash talk to add a pinch of excitement in the upcoming bout. 

Tim Tszyu calls ‘bulls**t’ on opponent’s scared claims

Despite suffering his first career loss earlier this year, Tszyu’s fire hasn’t gone out. He recently dismissed claims from his upcoming unbeaten rival that fighters have been avoiding him out of fear. The Aussie has suggested that Murtazaliev’s claims are “bulls**t,” revealing his team has been negotiating with Murtazaliev’s camp since 2023.

“I was actually supposed to fight Murtazaliev way back before Tony Harrison,” Tszyu explained. “But then he came up with some excuse, saying he was injured… avoided? Man, that’s bulls**t.” However, things didn’t end there, as Tszyu responded to Murtazaliev’s claims that he had been talking too much to the media. 

“Well, somebody has to carry this fight… and clearly, he’s not promotable,” Tszyu said. Interestingly, the 29-year-old is planning to move to Las Vegas full-time after his upcoming bout, training at the UFC Performance Institute and Split T boxing gym to pursue big-name opponents.

It appears Rick Glaser doesn’t think highly of the Tim Tszyu vs. Bakhram Murtazaliev fight being free on Amazon Prime Video for their subscribers. However, the question now is, will the public pay more to watch the bout? What do you think?