Fundora's Height: A Double-Edged Sword Against Tszyu

Sebastian Fundora will be a riddle for WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu to figure out in their two-belt unification fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this Saturday night.

Tszyu (24-0, 17 KOs) is not sweating Fundora’s freakish height and reach, which could make life difficult for him in this fight. There’s so much for Tim to lose in this fight regarding future dough, and he can afford any slip-ups.

Tszyu’s Game Plan: Copy and Paste

Brian Mendoza’s blueprint for defeating Fundora has relaxed Tszyu because he beat him in his last fight.

Mendoza’s guidebook on how to chop down the bean stock Fundora has calmed Tszyu’s nerves, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to do the same thing.

The major issue that Tszyu, 29, could have in this fight is the short time that he’s had to train for the lanky Fundora. He stepped in just last week as a replacement for the injured Keith Thurman.

It doesn’t matter what Tszyu says about the cram session he’s had to endure to prepare. He won’t be 100% ready for Fundora on just two weeks’ notice.

In contrast, Fundora finds it much easier to prepare for Tszyu because he is basically the same height as all the opponents he’s faced during his 22-fight professional career.

Tszyu the Analyst: Stating the Obvious

“I think his awkwardness, of course, his height, just the way he is, his natural God-given gifts, of course, they present a tremendous task,” Tszyu said to DAZN. “I don’t think there is anyone like this at 154, this tall.”

No one is the same height at Fundora and ranked in the top 15 that Tszyu will have to worry about. Provided Tszyu wins this fight on Saturday, his biggest problems will be Terence Crawford, Errol Spence Jr, Virgil Ortiz, and Xander Zayas.

“I feel like this is a picture-perfect type of fight,” Tszyu continued about the 6’5″ Fundora.

Tszyu is going to have to find a way to deal with the height and reach of Fundora so that he can fight his fight, and land his big power shots. It’ll be difficult to outbox Fundora if he keeps the action on the outside for once.

“I think [Brian] Mendoza exploited it to the maximum with an exclamation mark,” said Tszyu about the knockout loss Fundora suffered last year against Brian Mendoza.