Already a pay-per-view star in Australia in just his 10th professional fight, Tszyu faces the toughest test of his career against Koen Mazoudier at the ICC Theatre on Wednesday night. A win will catapult the 26-year-old into the IBF and WBO super-welterweight world rankings and there are plans for “The Butcher” to break into the US market by 2026. A simple piece of advice from Kostya could make all the difference as Nikita attempts to follow his father and older brother to the US.
“One of the biggest changes was my dad saying, ‘Not every punch has to be a knockout’,” Tszyu said. “As soon as he said it, it just clicked in my head. “Like, how did I not think about that at all? “When I look back at all my other fights, I feel like such an amateur for always going for that big shot.
” It will be a more patient and calculated fighter who meets Mazoudier (12-3-1) on Wednesday night, which is ironic considering the breakneck speed of his career. “In 2025 we’ll have Nikita in some really good competition and that will take him through to about 13 or 14 fights,” Tszyu’s manager Glen Jennings said. “In 2026, that’ll be the perfect time to launch Nikita overseas.
This is the next stage of his career.” It’s an extraordinarily quick rise for any professional boxer. By comparison, Tim Tszyu’s 10th pro fight was against the unheralded Stevie Ferdinandus on a Billy Dib undercard in Redfern.
“With Tim, we brought him through 13 fights before signing with.