Why is Tszyu Jr. so popular?
Tim Tszyu's success is due to several factors.
One of them is the speed with which he burst into the world of professional boxing, in the shortest possible time winning not only the regional IBF and WBO titles, but also the attention of the audience.
Nevertheless, at the moment, interest in the athlete is shown mainly in two countries.
In his native Australia, the excitement around his person is due to frequent and bright performances, and in Russia - a warm attitude towards his father.
Konstantin Tszyu is still considered one of the brightest domestic representatives of martial arts in history, as a result of which many are extremely curious to watch the achievements of his son.
Perhaps the popularity of the Australian is also explained by the fact that many see him not only as the son of a great boxer, but also as the continuer of his traditions.
The same Denis Lebedev noted that Tim is very similar in style to Konstantin, which is not only a compliment for the young fighter, but also explains his phenomenon.
Many fans still remember the battles of Tszyu Sr. with Zab Judah, Sharmba Mitchell, Ricky Hatton and want to see a similar thing from his heir.
Does Tszyu really stand out from other talented boxers?
In amateurs, Tszyu Jr. won 33 fights out of 34, but never participated in either the planetary championship or the Olympics.
The fighter suffered his only defeat at the 2011 Australian Nationals.
Then Tim reached the semifinals in the 64 kg category, but lost to Daniel Lewis.
For comparison: the same Arthur Beterbiev took gold and silver at the World Cup, and at the Games in London he lost only to the future triumphant Alexander Usik.
Konstantin Tszyu also had a brighter amateur career.
On his account there are victories in two European championships, as well as first and second place in planetary competitions.
Moreover, in 1989, he lost only gold to the Olympic medalist Alexander Tsyulov, and two years later he still ended up at the top of the podium.
And in the course of the tournament, he dealt with Vernon Forrest himself - the future world champion in two weight categories among professionals.
After becoming a professional, Tszyu Jr. won 18 victories in a row.
But if in the same mixed martial arts this can be called an outstanding achievement (especially if most of them were issued after the transition to a major promotion), then in boxing many top prospects can boast of this.
It all depends on the level of rivals, and the son of Constantine did not have them of the highest quality.
Why not overestimate the victory over Hogan?
For ten years in professional boxing, the Irishman has not managed to break into the elite of the sport.
Hogan spent most of his career in Australia, where he fought with far from the strongest opponents, and all his attempts to win the world title ended in failure.
In 2015, he lost to German Jack Kulkai in a fight for an interim WBA junior middleweight belt, and four years later he stumbled twice more.
At first, another attempt to win the trophy in the division up to 69.85 kg ended in failure, and the transition to middle weight led to a fiasco altogether.
For Dennis, the confrontation with Jermall Charlo turned into a knockout in the seventh round.
At the same time, everything could have ended in the fourth.
Thus, the 36-year-old Hogan approached the battle with Tszyu Jr. with a series of two defeats.
Undoubtedly, the Irishman was not a whipping boy, but it was difficult to call him a comparable opponent in terms of level.
But even despite this, Dennis managed to create problems for Tim: in the first rounds, he repeatedly punished him for being overconfident, and one of his punches opened a cut in the Australian's left eye.
Who is Tszyu Jr.'s strongest rival at the moment?
Only Jeff Horn can impose a fight on Hogan in a dispute for this title.
Unlike the Irishman, he not only claimed the world title, but even won it.
In 2017, he sensationally took over the legendary Manny Pacquiao and won the WBO welterweight belt.
True, it was not possible to hold out on the throne for a long time.
After the victory over the British Gary Corcoran, a fight with Terence Crawford followed, in which the Australian suffered a painful defeat.
It is noteworthy that on this his international career, if not ended, then at least temporarily interrupted.
Subsequently, he fought only on his native soil, but there he won only two out of four duels.
The rest of Tszyu Jr.'s opponents, although they had a solid record (which is common for this sport), were clearly below the level.
Moreover, most of them did not even receive invitations to fight at large venues in more developed countries in terms of boxing - the USA, Great Britain and Russia.
Bowen Morgan never played outside Australia, and Jack Brubaker and Dwight Ritchie limited themselves to travels to Japan.
Should Tszyu Jr. agree to a fight in Russia?
At the moment, the possible arrival of the son of the legendary champion to his historical homeland is one of the most discussed topics in domestic boxing.
Immediately after the victory over Hogan, the famous promoter Vladimir Khryunov announced his desire to organize a fight for Tim Tszyu in Russia.
And it is hardly worth considering as something unrealizable.
Especially after the functionary arranged a boxing evening with the participation of Artur Beterbiev in Moscow.
From the point of view of audience interest, the arrival of Tszyu Jr. to Russia will certainly be a very successful event.
Many will want to see the performance of the son of the legendary athlete, who is not only in the prime of his life and is moving at full speed to the first fight for the title of world champion, but also has an extremely flamboyant manner of fighting.
This is confirmed by the fact that Tim won 14 out of 18 fights by knockout.
Problems can arise only with the selection of an opponent.
Due to the epidemiological situation in the world, many foreign boxers may not agree to go to Russia.
And given that the entire elite of the first middle weight consists entirely of Americans and Europeans, Tszyu Jr. may not be matched against his level.
In this case, everything will depend on the plans of the athlete himself and his management, as well as the fee.
If the amount turns out to be so attractive that Tim temporarily forgets about the champion's ambitions, returning to his homeland can be considered a settled matter.
Who should Tszyu Jr. fight with in the next fight?
According to the ratings of the world's largest organizations, Tszyu Jr. is already among the main contenders for the world title.
In the IBF rating, he ranks third, behind only the aforementioned Kulkai and Russian Bahram Murtazaliev, and the WBO even puts him in the first line.
In this regard, it may be more logical to decide first to focus on winning the trophy, and only then return home in the status of its owner.
As did the same Beterbiev.
As for the prospects, now the most logical decision seems to focus on the WBO title.
It is owned by Brian Carlos Castagno - a very serious fighter, but not as strong as Jermell Charlo, the title holder of the other three organizations.
The battle with the Argentinean will be a serious test for Tszyu Jr. and will demonstrate whether he is really capable of successfully competing with representatives of the major league.
If successful, it will be possible to carry out a couple of defenses and think about uniting the belts.