'We needed an uppercut': Tim Tszyu's team makes frank confession

Tim Tszyu’s camp have averted crisis and hired an emergency new corner man after conceding they needed “an uppercut” for allowing their superstar charge to lose his world title in controversial fashion to Sebastian Fundora.

Team Tszyu are flying the highly respected Joe Quiambao from New York to Florida after Tszyu’s career-long cut man Mark Gambin was unable to make the trip from Sydney after suffering acute appendicitis.

Gambin copped heavy flak for being unable to stem the flow of blood from a gruesome head wound sustained late in the second round of the first defeat of Tszyu’s career, to Fundora in March.

After being in Tszyu’s corner for his entire 24-bout professional career, Gambin had been desperate to be in Orlando when the 29-year-old takes on undefeated Russian Bakhram Murtazaliev for the IBF super-welterweight belt on Sunday.

But Tszyu’s manager Glen Jennings said that was simply not an option after undergoing an appendectomy on Tuesday.

“Go to America and you might die in the plane,” Jennings said of the dire warning doctors issued Gambin.

“I spoke to him a few hours after the operation and he was in recovery and the poor bastard was shattered. Just shattered.

“He’s like ‘f***’. And I said, ‘Mate, just chill. It’s not going to be a problem. We’ll get someone to come in and replace you, but we wish you were here.”

An SOS was swiftly sent for Quiambao, whose vast experience includes being on hand for former lightweight world champ Teofimo Lopez when Tszyu’s ex-Sydney stablemate George Kambosos Jr battered the American in New York in 2021 during one of boxing’s greatest upsets.

“I just need someone to come in who will be very respectful, very subdued, but take care of the job if he gets cut,” Jennings said.

“Joe has a lovely quiet demeanour and we’re very happy with the arrangement.”

Jennings maintains Gambin was not to blame for Tszyu’s loss to Fundora, or the handling of the Sydney slayer’s savage gash above the forehead.

Tszyu courageously fought on for 10 rounds, or 30 minutes, while mostly blinded by blood and ultimately only lost on a split decision.

“Mark copped it from everyone after Fundora but we couldn’t stop (the bleeding) nor control that,” Jennings said.

“Even our doctor, Bill (Anseline), our surgeon, he knows that.

“Bill is a very well regarded skin surgeon and he operates on the head with skin cancers every day.

“He’s a professor and lectures people and says that carotid artery, when it’s ruptured you can’t stop the bleeding.

“You need 20 minutes in an operating theatre with all the best equipment to control that bleed.”

“We couldn’t have asked for a better response, not even had it been an easy knockout of Fundora,” he said.

“Everyone knows who Tim is because of that fight, and credit to Tim for just powering on.

“We wouldn’t have had the chance to review and reset and give ourselves a bit of an uppercut - because we needed it.

“Seven years in, we hadn’t experienced a downer and it’s put Tim in such a good place.”