Tim Tszyu will look to become a two-time world champion when he takes on Sebastian Fundora in Las Vegas on Sunday (AEDT).
Tszyu will be fighting for Fundora's WBC super welterweight title.
The Australian had previously held the WBO super welterweight title, which he lost to Fundora by split decision in March last year at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.
A horror gash in his forehead, opened by a stray elbow from the man known as the Towering Inferno due to his incredible 197cm height, cost Tszyu dearly.
He then suffered a shocking battering at the hands of Bakhram Murtazaliev in Orlando last October when looking to immediately bounce back and win the IBF super welterweight crown.
That fight ended inside three rounds, Tszyu a shadow of the fighter who had worked his way so painstakingly up to world title challenge in the first place.
He recaptured some of his old aura with a fourth-round TKO win against Joey Spencer in Newcastle in April, but is now throwing himself straight back in against the man who delivered him such a horrendous setback.
Who is Sebastian Fundora?
A giant southpaw (left-hander) from Florida, the 27-year-old has a professional record of 22-1-1 and is the current WBC super welterweight champion.
The American took on Tszyu in March 2024 on just 11 days' notice after Tszyu's original opponent, Keith Thurman, pulled out with a late injury.
Fundora made the most of his late call-up, becoming the unified WBO and WBC super welterweight champion by split decision.
The win, in no small way, came after Tszyu caused a huge gash to open up on Tszyu's head after a clash with Fundora's elbow in the second round.
The resulting, blood-soaked bout showed off Tszyu's heart, but cost him his belt.
Fundora defended the unified championship against Chordale Booker, whom he beat by fourth-round stoppage in March.
However, he was then stripped of the WBO title he won from Tszyu for refusing to face mandatory challenger Xander Zayas next.
Instead, he opted to take on Tszyu again in a rematch.
The only blemishes on his record are a split decision draw against Jamontay Clark in 2019, before he received his first defeat against Brian Mendoza in a seventh-round KO in California in 2023.
Mendoza then went on to lose to Tszyu on the Gold Coast later that year by unanimous decision.
Tszyu only looking forward
When Tszyu was unceremoniously dispatched by Murtazaliev, it was easy to fear the worst.
The Soul Taker looked as though his own soul had been ripped from him as the clinical Russian comprehensively battered him to the canvas no fewer than four times.
His whole world had been flipped upside down.
Is this fight too soon for Tszyu?
The mental scars from the devastating, sickening cut were in evidence against Murtazaliev, but were nowhere to be seen against Spencer back on home soil earlier this year.
The enormous reach advantage Fundora enjoys, some 24cm, is enough to allow the giant American to simply use his jab and stay out of range.
He will be the one to dictate, something that so often fits into Tszyu's game plan.
However, training with another towering American, 190cm Mykal Fox, has given Tszyu new ammunition with which to throw.
"This next fight with Sebastian Fundora, it will be a different fight to the first one," Tszyu told Fox Sports this week.
"I can't wait to get in the ring so I can punish [him], I've got a lot to prove.
"I wouldn't say there's bad blood, but I wanna take his head off.
"It's going to be a firefight, and I love firefights. They suit me."
Pacquiao is also fighting
That's right, Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao (62-8-2) is stepping back into the ring after a four-year absence.
He is stepping straight back into the deep end, too, meeting WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios (29-2-1).
His last fight was a unanimous points defeat to Yordenis Ugás in 2021.
British trainer Dave Coldwell engaged in a solid exchange on social media with WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman.
Coldwell said the move to sanction the fight was "disgraceful" and that Pacquiao, who has not won a fight since 2019, had jumped the queue for a world title shot.
Sulaiman, for his part, hit back, saying that Pacquiao had passed all medical checks and the WBC, as per its regulations, as a "Champion Emeritus" was able to request an immediate title shot.
Pacquiao has never won the WBC strap at welterweight, but has held that version of the flyweight, super featherweight, lightweight, and super welterweight titles.
He has been the WBO welterweight champion on three separate occasions, though, and has also held the WBA (Super) welterweight title.
When will the fight start?
The undercard gets underway at 7am AEST, but the main card will start at 10am (AEST) on Sunday.
Tszyu vs Fundora II is the penultimate fight on the main card, so it will likely take place close to 12pm (AEST), but that is subject to significant change based on the duration of the previous contests.
How can I watch the Tszyu fight?
If you want to watch it, you'll have to tune into Main Event, the Fox Sports pay-per-view channel.
You can access it via Kayo Sport, too, but it will cost you.
The event is being sold at $69.95.
Of course, you can follow the entire event on the ABC Sport live blog, which will get underway just before 10am on Sunday.
Who else is fighting on the card
Here's how the full fight card stands up.
- Manny Pacquiao vs Mario Barrios: WBC welterweight title
- Sebastian Fundora vs Tim Tszyu: WBC super welterweight title
- Isaac Cruz vs Angel Fierro: super lightweight
- Brandon Figueroa vs Joet Gonzalez: featherweight
