Tim Tszyu def Brian Mendoza, relationship with dad Kostya Tszyu, phone call after world title defence, will dad be at his next fight

Tim Tszyu jokingly apologized to his legendary father Kostya Tszyu “for getting hit” during his dominant world title defense against Brian Mendoza.

In an awkward but funny post-fight moment, Kostya called his son on Facetime during a live television interview on Main Event’s coverage of the fight, with the two men chatting briefly afterward.

” Dad I love you. And sorry I got hit,” Tim said with a laugh before being told something off-screen.

“Oh, he didn’t see the fight! So good.”

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Former world champion Shawn Porter blamed Tszyu for his reaction.

“It’s terrible TV, you shouldn’t tell them he didn’t see the fight!” You should have pretended he saw the fight! » Porter joked.

Tszyu replied, “He should have told me too!” I’m not happy with you man (laughs).

Kostya now lives in Russia with his second family – having remarried and returned to Europe when his boys were young – and no longer attends Tim’s fights, since a “chaotic” ringside appearance in the champion’s professional debut of the world against Zorran Cassady.

“It’s very simple, he was going crazy,” Tszyu said of his father’s appearance.

Tszyu revealed to Fox Sports Australia that he removed his father’s old fight posters from the walls of the Tszyu Boxing Academy ahead of the fight with Mendoza.

However, it was more about a new attitude and mentality than any sort of negativity between the two men, with Tim saying he would be more than happy to see Kostya in his next fight – almost certainly in Las Vegas.

“Family is everything to me, it’s why I do it, and everyone on my team feels like family too. I see us as a pride of lions all together, celebrating and doing everything together,” he said.

“If my father wants to come, sure. I’ll save him a ticket and he’ll be in the front row too.