Above: Nikita Tszyu gets that special twinkle in his eye when mayhem is near. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
HE MAY STILL BE RAW, BUT NIKITA TSZYU’S FONDNESS FOR VIOLENCE HAS TURNED THE YOUNGEST MEMBER OF AUSTRALIA’S FIRST FAMILY OF BOXING INTO MUST-SEE TV
Like a horror film, many watched March’s gruesome unified world title fight between Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora through their fingers.
Conversely, Tim’s younger brother Nikita sat ringside through 12 bloody rounds, wide-eyed and spattered in envy.
It wasn’t the occasion, the titles or the purses that so enchanted the fellow professional boxer – rather the savage cut, the busted nose and the resultant red mess that stained the Las Vegas ring to the point that it would have been fitting to replace the ropes with crime scene tape.
“Seeing all the blood, it was quite arousing for me,” said Nikita.
“I’m attracted to that type of gruesomeness. I was jealous! At the end of the fight, he (Tim) cut his glove and he licked it and I was like, ‘Fuck yeah, thank you.’”
You see, Nikita Tszyu is a bit different.
Two and a half years ago, at the press conference to announce his debut fight, the younger Tszyu offered a quote that unintentionally spawned a ring moniker.
Nikita’s happy place is a fight with no quarter given, as was the case with his first-round stoppage of Benjamin Bommber in May 2023. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
“Some people used to describe my brother more as a surgeon and they’d describe me as a butcher. We do the same type of job, but we do things in a different way. I’m a little more messy in that sense,” said Nikita.
At 26, “The Butcher” is three years Tim’s junior and too young to remember much from the time when their father, Kostya, was the undisputed king of the junior welterweight division and one of boxing’s most compelling figures.
“In life, I will think before I do. Nikita does, then thinks.”
– Tim Tszyu
The Tszyu brothers have described their upbringing as being driven by “army sergeant” Kostya’s military parenting style – all discipline, punctuality and respect.
“I remember coming back home after I came second in cross country,” recalls Tim. “After that, dad would be banging on the door at 5:15 a.m. every morning for runs, and I came first every year from then on.
“You couldn’t be a bludger in this family – that’s for sure!”
But when the boys were alone, sparks and punches would fly.
“My childhood was constant bloody noses,” admits Nikita, whose grandfather Boris has now banned him from sparring his brother.
Childhood was a little unusual for Nikita, pictured here (lower left) with brother Tim and father Kostya in 2005. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
“I was a bit of a loner as a kid. I was always doing my own thing. I used to collect redback spiders in my backyard and put them in boxes and suffocate them. I feel sorry for my mum. She was the one who used to deal with it all. They took me to a psychologist when I was younger and they said, ‘There’s nothing really wrong with him, he just needs attention.’”
Despite his questionable hobbies, Nikita was a national standout as an amateur boxer in Sydney and, according to many, the more naturally gifted of the brothers. He had wings to spread, however, and so he flew away from boxing to pursue a career in architecture.
It lasted seven years, but ultimately Tszyu hands are meant to make fists, not drawings, and watching the rise of his brother from afar only fueled Nikita’s inevitable return to the ring.
While Tim debuted in relative obscurity and didn’t headline a major televised show until his thirteenth professional fight, his role in returning the Tszyu name to mainstream prominence in Australia meant Nikita was cast in a lead role from the very beginning.
In March of 2022, “The Butcher” stopped Aaron Stahl in the second round of a scrappy but violent debut in Brisbane, and there was national interest immediately.
Of course the surname Tszyu and resultant hype helped greatly, but so did the attitude, recklessness and punching power. Inside and outside the ring, Nikita Tszyu is must-see TV.
Nikita is a southpaw, and while he doesn’t share Tim’s uncanny facial similarities to Kostya, there is a striking resemblance in the sincerity of his punches. The blows look and sound heavy and the reaction from opponents is dramatic.
Bo Belbin needed a trip to the hospital after his fourth-round stoppage loss to Tszyu in March 2023. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Further, Nikita’s fighting style is highly entertaining – not so much “hit and don’t get hit” as “get hit and hit back harder.”
“I heard (Gennadiy) Golovkin say a quote. He said sometimes he lets people hit him just so he gives others hope. Not calling myself Golovkin, but I wanted to say that quote,” said Nikita.
“When I watch a fight, I hate when it’s one-sided. Even if I like the guy I’m watching, I want them to get hurt. This is the business of entertainment and the main character has to go through adversity.”
Tim articulates the contrast in the brothers’ styles, inside and outside the boxing ring.
“In life, I will think before I do. Nikita does, then thinks,” said Tim. “Same thing in the ring. But most of the time when he does it, it’s fireworks.
“Expect the unexpected from this kid.”
The first nine fights of Nikita’s paid career have been compelling, and while he remains undefeated, there has been ample adversity. He was rocked badly in the final round of an early win over Ben Horn, had to climb off the canvas in the opening round before stopping Dylan Biggs, and he took big shots in brutal wins over Jack Brubaker and Danilo Creati.
“I cop the shots, but I’m still a rookie. I’m learning on the go. Two-and-a-half years back in the sport! I’m at, like, my teenager phase at the moment. I haven’t fully matured – I know a bit of the strength of my body – but I’m still a little bit reckless,” said Nikita.
“The Ben Horn one – why was I trying to knock him out in the last 30 seconds when I’d been winning the entire fight? That’s a rookie error by me. Brubaker – I got headbutted! I did get hit by a nice clean shot, too, but I recovered straight after. And the Creati one – yes he hit me with a shot, but I felt fine – I was just trying to clinch with him, but he was a slippery dude and it looked like I was all over the place.”
The southpaw’s most recent bout, against Koen Mazoudier in Sydney in late August, was the most dramatic to date and the leading candidate so far for Australia’s domestic “fight of the year,” as Tszyu was again forced to walk through fire to victory.
Before the fight, Tszyu and Mazoudier shared a depraved dialogue around their desire for a bloody battle, and pledged their willingness to “die in the ring.” Nikita even offered “til death do us part” during the weigh-in day staredown.
What followed was a domestic classic, with Tszyu beginning strongly before surviving a spirited Mazoudier revival in the middle to late rounds to prevail via ninth-round stoppage.
“It sucked during the fight, but the feeling right now is indescribable. It’s everything that we expected – everything we advertised,” said Nikita in the ring after the fight.
“There was a point in the middle where I was out on my feet and I remember Igor (Goloubev – his trainer and uncle) looking up to me saying, ‘Am I going to stop the fight?’ And I’m like, ‘No,’ and I had to push through and dig deep. This is where strength comes from – pushing through those tough times. I just kept saying, ‘Don’t be a fucking pussy!’”
That sort of spectacle simultaneously gets crowds engaged, provides ammunition for critics and scares a spectating brother.
“I didn‘t understand what I was in for. But I understood when I was watching Nikita’s first fight. Man, this is nerve-racking! Stressful. It’s very hard,” said the older Tszyu brother. “The first couple of fights, I was out of control. I sat down and thought, ‘You know what, I really need to work on this!’”
Tim Tszyu’s battle with Sebastian Fundora (pictured above) was as bloody as they come, but even Tim gets squeamish when he watches Nikita fight. (Photo by Esther Lin)
Father Kostya has yet to attend any of Nikita’s professional fights. And while they communicate regularly, the 26-year-old hasn’t seen his dad in person in five years.
After his final professional fight in 2005, Kostya increased his business interests in Moscow and began spending more time there. Then, in 2008, the family – then-wife Natasha and children Tim, Nikita and Anastasia – joined Kostya in relocating to Russia. However, the homesick Tszyus never settled in and were back in Sydney within a year.
In 2012, Kostya permanently returned to Moscow, where he now lives with second wife Tatiana and the couple’s two young children, and is “happy” and “softer,” according to Tim.
The boys insist they are content with their legendary father’s absence and describe the current relationship like a long-distance friendship; Kostya watches every fight and called Nikita after his most recent bout with advice to stop trying to knock out opponents with every punch.
“Some people used to describe my brother more as a surgeon and they’d describe me as a butcher. … I’m a little more messy in that sense.”
– Nikita Tszyu
Nikita remains a quirky character, with colorful turns of phrase and an intriguing personal philosophy. He remains something of a “loner” who spends much of his time in nature with his three dogs – Lucifer, Hunter and Carlos. But as the dark prince of Australian boxing’s first family, Nikita has had to deal with grumblings around the relative ease of his boxing ascent. He admits he has been privileged but explains the limitations of that advantage well.
Tszyu’s stock rose even higher after his thrilling victory over Mazoudier. (Photo courtesy of No Limit Boxing)
“What can I do about it? There’s nothing I can do about the privilege I grew up with. I’m not going to deny it, because it’s obviously true, but boxing is one of those sports where privilege can only take you so far – you’ve still got to get in there and fight,” said Nikita.
“I still have had all these fights and I did win them. It got me somewhere, but I had to take control myself.”
As reward for his most recent win, Tszyu will enter the world rankings, and while he first requires surgery on a troublesome left hand, his next assignment is expected to be a domestic showdown with Australian boxing’s self-appointed “bad guy” – Michael Zerafa.
The Tszyu-Zerafa rivalry has blossomed bitterly since the Melbournian sensationally withdrew from a fight with Nikita’s brother Tim at the eleventh hour in 2021. It’s now the younger Tszyu being positioned to clash with the domestic scene’s most polarizing figure, and Nikita has started flying the family’s flag.
“I think he has a huge vendetta against us – a crippling hatred for us – that’s taken over his entire existence,” said Nikita.
“He probably screams when he goes to sleep at the thought of us.”
Ben Damon is a noted journalist, commentator and TV presenter known as the “Voice of Australian Boxing.” He will call Tszyu vs. Mazoudier on Wednesday night Australian time.
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