Debate surrounding who will walk first between Nikita Tszyu and Dylan Biggs continued to rumble on, although No Limit CEO George Rose seemingly put an end to it by declaring the fight as “the Nikita Tszyu show.”
Tszyu and Biggs will come face-to-face as the headline bout of a bumper card on Wednesday night at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre for the Australian super welterweight title.
BOXING: Nikita Tszyu v Dylan Biggs WED 22nd NOV 7PM AEDT | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports
Biggs, who holds the belt, expects to walk to the ring second, as is the champion’s right.
However, Tszyu is the A-side and the one who brings plenty of star power to the fight.
Biggs continued to dig his heels into the ground and claim he will make the walk second no matter what, to which Tszu replied: “Stop being such a brat about it.”
Tszyu also reiterated it would be up to promoters No Limit to make the decision, but Biggs fired back: “It’s too bad I don’t take instructions from Nikita Tszyu.”
Biggs also added: “I’ll do what I want.”
Rose was again brought back to settle the debate and all but confirmed it would be Tszyu who would make the walk second.
“I said what I said earlier,” Rose said.
“I stand by that, for now. I said this is the Nikita Tszyu show. This is what we’re here for. We’re here because Nikita is a star in Australian boxing.
‘Baby Tszyu’ comment riles up Nikita | 01:25
MORE COVERAGE
‘Crying, immature brat’: Tszyu slams Aussie champ in explosive, tense face off
‘I break down and cry every day’: Family pain driving fight star ahead of huge Tszyu opportunity
Nikita’s ‘hatred’ after rival’s ‘Baby Tszyu’ sledge and massive bookie reveal
“He’s going to fight for the Australian title on Wednesday night against the Australian champion, but he’s the star of the show.”
When directly asked the question if Biggs will walk first, Rose responded: “In my opinion, yes.”
Tszyu also hit out at Biggs’ mentality going into the bout, claiming the latter is “treating this like every other fight.”
“For me, this is like a life or death situation,” Tszyu said.
“This is what everything means to me. My life is coming to a crescendo at this point … This fight is the biggest of them all, this is where everything comes together … the biggest set of pressures involved.
“I’ve always thought this but the greatest challenges bring out the best in you. Dylan is easily the toughest challenge I’ve faced and he’s going to bring out the best in me.”
It was one of several spicy moments during the press conference in which Issac Hardman branded Michael Zerafa “a f***wit.”
What really happened at sparring session | 01:26
Hardman takes on Troy Coleman for the vacant WBO intercontinental middleweight title and hopes a victory against the Brit will put him back onto a collision course against Zerafa, who finished the ‘Headsplitter’ in 2022.
The Aussie contender knows Zerafa’s win over him means “he’s got the trump card” yet the Victorian still remains “a w**ker.”
“He’ll never want to fight me again because he holds that mandatory,” Hardman said.
“But I’ve got to back him into a corner. I hope he wins a world title, if he ever gets around to doing it.
“If he ever fights for one, I hope he wins it because I’ll back him into a corner where I’m his mandatory and he has to fight me. That’s the only way I’ll get my hands on him again, unless it’s at the pub.
“I’m fighting to get in that man’s face once again.”
FULL FIGHT CARD
Nikita Tszyu v Dylan Biggs — for Australian super welterweight title
Issac Hardman v Troy Coleman — for WBO intercontinental middleweight title
Jason Fawcett v Jordan Martin — super welterweight
Mounir Fathi v Joel Pavlides — middleweight
Liam Talivaa v Brandon Grach — heavyweight
Mark Schleibs v Shamal Ram Anuj — super bantamweight
Amber Amelia v Natasha Kurene — super bantamweight
Brent Walton v Dharringarra Trewhella — welterweight
Discussion about this post