He may never have fought on television before, but rising New Zealand prospect Viliami Liavaa will tonight have an audience stretching all the way across to Las Vegas – and a home just off the strip, playing host to Team Tszyu.
As first revealed by Fox Sports Australia, 22-year-old Liavaa will almost certainly earn himself a fight with Australia’s newly-crowned super welterweight champ Nikita Tszyu if he wins the first major No Limit fight card of 2024 (watch live on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports tonight from 7.30pm AEDT)
Better, Tszyu’s manager Glen Jennings has also confirmed his interest in the Trans Tasman headliner, suggesting it would allow his undefeated charge, still only 26, to follow the “Tim Tszyu blueprint”.
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Currently, both Tszyu boys are undergoing camp in Las Vegas, with Tim set to face American superstar Keith Thurman inside the famed T-Mobile Arena on Sunday, March 31.
Speaking from the world’s fight capital on Wednesday afternoon, Jennings confirmed to Fox Sports Australia that he and Team Tszyu will be watching Liavaa throw down against Sydneysider Anton Markovic in what is now the No Limit on Fox headliner.
Jennings added that a fight against the young Kiwi not only made sense for Nikita, but would allow the national champ to follow the fight path already laid out by his WBO world champion brother, Tim.
In the earlier stages of his own undefeated career, Tim Tszyu fought three Kiwis before then facing a fourth, Bowyn Morgan, in 2020 – and just four months after his huge win over Australian boxing legend Jeff Horn.
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“So absolutely we’ll be watching,” Jennings said of tonight’s fight.
“This kid, he’s the best New Zealand has to offer in the division so if he wins, yes, he could be in a position to fight Nikita.
“I know he got beaten by Benny Hussein a year ago, but I’ve also heard he’s since gone back to the drawing board, changed up a few things, and has been working his arse off for this return.
“So let’s see how he goes.
“If he has a real good win, there may be an opportunity.”
Asked why he liked the fight, Jennings continued that, in part, it was because “it’s the Tim Tszyu blueprint.
“With Tim’s own career, we took on some New Zealand fighters early on and, while he obviously took care of them all, they gave us some good fights,” he continued.
“So we’ll see.
“Right now, Nikita is here in Las Vegas getting some quality sparring.
“That’s primary driver for these camps.
“Everything else, it’s not much different to them being at home.
“Both boys train at the same time, Igor (coach Goloubev) looks after the pair of them. But it’s the depth and variety of sparring that Nikita gets, that’s so important.”
George Rose previews Tszyu in Vegas | 04:28
Certainly it has been a big 24 hours for Liavaa, who has also risen from undercard fighter to No Limit on Fox headliner following the chaotic cancellation of a fight between Bilal Akkawy and Renold Quinlan.
With Quinlan weighing in almost five kilograms heavy, promoters had no alternative but to scrap the main event, which now goes to Liavaa’s fight against Markovic.
No Limit CEO George Rose has also since confirmed that, with a win, Liavaa will almost certainly get to face the younger Tszyu sibling.
After going undefeated through the first six fights of his career, Liavaa then undertook a huge step up against tough Hussain, but was stopped in round four.
From there, the young fighter then disappeared from the ring for a year in a bid to improve his game and now returns for the opening to a huge month for Australian boxing, dubbed ‘March Mayhem’.
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Elsewhere, Liavaa and his partner Keshia have also recently celebrated the birth of their daughter Novalie, which the fighter also attributes to having provided him with a new mindset and drive.
“It still feels unreal, even the fact that I’m going to be fighting on TV,” the Kiwi said with a smile this week.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around that.
“After losing last year against Ben Hussain, I decided to sit down, take some time away and change a few things.
“I’ve also had the birth of my daughter too which has really matured me and motivated me to push harder.
“In my last couple of fights, I was just going with the flow.
“But now with my daughter, I’m a lot more focused on certain things.”
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