Teremoana Teremoana’s fight offer to Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Tim Tszyu vs Dennis Nurja latest, Alexander Volkanovski’s next opponent decided

This is Fox Sports Australia’s combat sports column Fighting Words, where we give you all the latest news and views in MMA and boxing, from Australia and abroad.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona has received a shock offer to throw down against Australia’s most hyped heavyweight prospect, with undefeated Olympian Teremoana Jnr declaring: “Oh, I’m up for that fight, definitely.”

On the eve of his Easter Sunday showdown against Jarrod Wallace, Asofa-Solomona has had a surprise new name added to a list of potential rivals including Paul Gallen, George Burgess, Matt Lodge, and Curtis Scott.

Speaking with Fox Sports Australia this week, Teremoana declared himself keen to throw down against the Melbourne Storm premiership hero, suggesting an all-Australian showdown between the pair would be “a great fight for Australian fans”.

Only two years younger than ‘Big Nasty’, the 28-year-old Campbelltown product is on a run of 10 KO wins – with eight coming within the first round – and has already been dubbed a future world champ by promoter Eddie Hearn.

Tszyu vs Nurja | Sunday 5 April from 11am AEST | Tim Tszyu looks to continue his boxing resurgence as he takes on Albanian Denis Nurja. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.

So as for taking on a man quickly making his own name as Australia’s crossover king?

“Oh, I’m up for that fight, definitely,” Teremoana Jnr said, adding he is willing to fight the former NRL star as soon as his next fight in April, with his promoters Matchroom still yet to announce an opponent.

“And that fight would actually be a great one for Australian fans.

“There would be a lot of eyes on that one.

“Obviously, I’ll fight anyone, whoever they put in front of me … but, yeah, I’d love that fight”.

And as for how quickly he reckons the end would come?

“How fast do I knock him out? Dunno,” the heavyweight grinned. “Because I never know.

“I never go out there trying to take my opponents out in the first round.

“My plan is to be patient, use my skill, my athleticism … (laughs) I just also really like to crack on and have a fight.”

Earlier this month, Teremoana needed less than three minutes to finish Curtis Harper, unleashing a brutal right hand that stiffened the American as he fell, and then left him sprawled out on the canvas.

Asofa-Solomona, meanwhile, has also been making headlines thanks to his own brutal KO win over Jeremy Latimore on debut in January.

Better, the 130kg enforcer is promising another highlight reel stoppage against Wallace this Sunday, with Rabbitohs Old Boy Burgess then understood to be next on a list eventually leading to NSW Origin great Gallen.

Given Asofa-Solomona is still only one fight into his professional career, it’s unlikely a bout against the far more experienced Teremoana happens anytime soon.

For context, Gallen famously went undefeated through 10 fights before then embarking on the incredible run that was Mark Hunt, Lucas Browne and, eventually, Justis Huni.

However, with Asofa-Solomona having signed a three-year deal with No Limit, the hulking Melburnian has big plans in boxing which includes, soon enough, going after the Australian heavyweight title.

Ironically, Teremoana is already chasing the same strap – and as soon as his next fight.

With Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing set to stage the first of seven domestic shows in Melbourne this April, Teremoana has already been announced for a card headlined by Skye Nicolson defending here WBC interim super bantamweight crown against Mariah Turner.

While no opponent has yet been announced for the now Queensland-based slugger, he’s already called out Australia’s heavyweight champ Stevan Ivic, plus Liam Talivaa and Ben Sila.

“I really want the Australian title,” he said. “That’s that fight I’ve been asking for, and asking for a while, too.

“There’s a few good boys here that I’ve called out.

“So we’ll see.

“I’m confident that whoever I step into the ring with, I’ll take of them.

“It’s exciting times right now.

“My plan is to headline some Matchroom shows here, then headline all over the world.”

‘IS HE BIG ENOUGH?’: TSZYU’S BIG SCALES DRAMA

American boxing great Paulie Malignaggi says Tim Tszyu is undeniably world class, but questions if ‘The Phoenix’ is simply competing at the wrong time to ever be world champion again – including if he moves up to middleweight.

It comes as the man who first broke news of Tszyu’s impending blockbuster against Errol Spence Jnr is now tipping the fight to be held Down Under, saying: “I’m hearing Australia, which is where the fight should be”.

Jetting into Sydney this week to work commentary for Tszyu’s Easter Sunday showdown against Denis Nurja, Malignaggi says he’s still undecided on who wins between the Aussie and Spence – and if the former world champ can ever regain super welterweight gold.

Malignaggi also questioned if Tszyu can even become world champion a weight class higher, saying: “Is he big enough to be a middleweight? Looking at him, I’m not sure … it’s tricky”.

Elsewhere, the American told this column Tszyu is definitely making the right play by taking a warm up bout in preparation for Spence, and says the US superstar has likely erred by not doing the same himself.

After years of campaigning at super welterweight, Tszyu is this Sunday fighting for the WBO International middleweight strap, and has hinted he may make the move to middleweight fulltime following his Spence blockbuster – which is already agreed so long as he wins in Wollongong.

Asked if Tszyu can be world champion again, Malignaggi said: “I think Tszyu is good enough to be champion again, and I do think he’s world class.

“But it’s a very tough weight class he’s in.

“And sometimes (your success) can come down to the generation you’re born in.

“Right now, at junior middleweight, it really is tricky.

“You’ve got Sebastian Fundora, who Tim has already seen twice.

“Then whoever wins between Xander Zayas and Boots Ennis is no joke either.

“Then there’s (new IBF champ) Josh Kelly, who may be seen as a soft touch.

“But Kelly at one time was being hyped up a lot. And while he underperformed initially, he’s now finally come around.

“So is he really that soft? I mean, that was a good win he had over Bakhram Murtazaliev. So you can’t take that fight lightly, either.

“And then after all that, you’ve got a bunch of hungry contenders hanging around who also aren’t easy to deal with. And Tim is one of those guys.

“So winning a world title in this weight class, it’s not going to be easy.”

WHO WINS TSZYU VERSUS SPENCE?

Like world boxing generally, Malignaggi says he is still 50/50 on Tszyu’s showdown with Spence.

“Every fight we’re see a little more from Tim Tszyu,” he said. He’s building that chemistry with Pedro Diaz which is essential.

“But how do we know where Spence is at? We don’t.

“I actually don’t understand how this fight gets made without Spence taking a tune up, given he’s had such a long lay off. And after taking a beating.

“Then before that was off a year too.

“So how can you tell me what Spence is showing up?

“What’s he been doing? And what has he not been doing? Has he been in the testing cycle? You have to be asking all these questions.

“But of course, people will watch because Spence is always going to move the needle.

“Yes, a little lustre has been knocked off him following the Crawford loss. But Errol Spence has always been a big figure in boxing.

“So while we haven’t seen him in a long time, the curiosity is there.

“And I have that same curiosity as everyone else.

“The opinions are also going to be big. And they’re not all going to be positive.

“Does he have anything left? Should he be in a tough fight right away?

“And with those questions, you know what we’re going to do as boxing fans – we’re going to watch.”

TSZYU’S SPENCE SPARRING PARTNERS LOCKED IN

Tim Tszyu says the sparring partners that will ready him for Errol Spence Jnr have already been locked in, as has every day of what will be a huge fight camp at Mundo Boxing Gym in Miami, Florida.

While Tszyu must first beat Denis Nurja this Sunday to confirm the Spence bout, new coach Pedro Diaz has wasted no time ensuring that everything is already locked into place.

Tszyu said his coach wakes at 4am every day to set programs.

“He’s also got everything my last eight weeks recorded,” the Aussie said. “Same as my next camp is covered, including all the sparring, every session. He walks around with a stopwatch and our trainings are timed to the second. He’s a perfectionist.”

Tszyu vs Nurja | Sunday 5 April from 11am AEST | Tim Tszyu looks to continue his boxing resurgence as he takes on Albanian Denis Nurja. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.

TSZYU’S NEW DIET SECRET

Tim Tszyu is already close to weight for Sunday’s showdown against Denis Nurja. And the secret? Patagonian toothfish.

As part of several changes under new Cuban coach Pedro Diaz, Tszyu has spent almost this entire camp switching out meat for seafood, with salmon and Chilean sea bass – aka Patagonian toothfish — his favored dishes.

Tszyu said his personal chef, and constant travelling companion Omar Iferd has constantly been creating seafood dishes in place of meat for almost all eight weeks of camp.

“My diet has consisted mainly of seafood this camp,” said Tszyu. “For me, I don’t feel too heavy eating this way. When we were in America, there was no barramundi so we’ve been eating a lot of Chilean sea bass. Salmon too. And of course, plenty of vegies.”

Asked how long he planned to stay at super welterweight, Tszyu replied: “Probably just the big fights. Big fights, titles fights. Although I can still make it easy to be honest. Right now I feel great to be honest.”

CRAWFORD’S JAPANESE ANIME ADVICE

Terence Crawford has urged Tim Tszyu to spend a little downtime this week watching Japanese anime, explaining how he has previously relaxed in the build up to fights by watching shows like Baki and Dragon Ball Z.

Crawford is currently touring Australia and made a shock appearance at Tszyu’s Rockdale gym on Wednesday afternoon, with the pair spending over 30 minutes discussing a myriad of topics including fame, fishing, Floyd Mayweather, Yuri Gamboa, Errol Spence – of course – plus diets, dog bites, even Little Debbie snacks.

Asked how he relaxed before fights and Crawford soon had Tszyu on his iPhone, Googling Baki and cackling “I might have to give it a watch”.

Soon then asked Crawford if he ever watched tape late in fight week?

“Nah,” he shrugged. “No point.”

Tszyu then asked the US megastar what has been his biggest challenge in life?

“Good question,” Crawford replied. “My biggest challenge in life? Just being a role model to the kids coming up under me. Trying to stay on that path. Sometimes you get the urge, people wanna poke you and poke you. You be like, man … they just don’t know. So I gotta stay focused. Don’t go backwards.”

FENECH SAYS ACTORS ‘ARE GOING TO GET HIT’

Jeff Fenech has given an intriguing insight into how realistic the fight scenes will be in the upcoming film about his life, saying of the actors: “Some of these guys are going to get hit”.

As preparations gear up for ‘Fenech’, one of Australia’s greatest boxers is inviting the entire main cast out for dinner – think the likes of Gary Sweet, Erick Thomson, Nicky Whelan and lead, Daniel Amalm — so he can give them an insight into his life both inside and out of the ring.

Speaking with Fighting Words this week, Fenech heaped praise on the way Amalm is already “training his arse off” for the main role, while also giving his take on how expects the fight scenes to play out.

In a wonderful twist, Tim Tszyu has also agreed to play the role of his old man, Kostya.

“So this won’t be like those movies where two guys with guns take on two thousand guys with guns and still don’t get shot,” Fenech laughed. “I don’t people watching this movie and saying ‘ah, s***, that punch didn’t even land.

“I want it to be real.

“Not 100 per cent, obviously. But some of these guys are going to get hit.”

TWO LEFT-HANDED GLOVES

Casey O’Neill has revealed she accidentally fought in the UFC wearing two left-handed gloves.

‘King’ Casey made her return to the Octagon over the weekend at UFC Seattle, scoring an impressive KO over Gabriella Fernandes – and picking up a $25k bonus in the process.

All of that, she says, came while she was wearing two left-handed mitts by mistake.

“When I got backstage for my photos, we realized both my gloves were left-handed,” O’Neill told Ariel Helwani.

“So somehow I fought in two left-handed gloves. They said it’s never happened before because gloves usually come pre-packaged. Maybe that’s my new thing – I’ll fight in two left-handed gloves every time.

“I honestly had no idea. I hadn’t fought in a long time, we just put them on and went out there. Then we realized it backstage. Somebody messed up, but somehow it made me win even better. I kept them!”

VOLK’S NEXT OPPONENT

Alex Volkanovski will throw down with Movsar Evloev in his next defence of the featherweight title, according to reports.

In what many viewed as a de facto title eliminator, Movsar Evloev handed Lerone Murphy the first loss of his career at UFC London — and wasted no time calling his shot.

“He’s (Alex Volkanovski) been waiting for me for a really long time,” Evloev said.

“And before he gets too old let’s make it happen… May, I’m ready.

“And if Alex is ready, let’s dance.”

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Now, prominent MMA reporter Ariel Helwani says the UFC appears ready to pull the trigger on the bout.

“My understanding, everyone, is that they’re going in the Movsar direction, that it’s going to be Movsar vs Alex,” he said on The Ariel Helwani Show on Tuesday.

“That’s my understanding. That’s what I’ve heard. And that’s the right call.

“I’m not saying breaking news… but my understanding is that is the direction that they are leaning towards, and that has been expressed.”

ZERAFA AGREED TO FIGHT UK STAR

Australian boxing bad boy Michael Zerafa says he’s now agreed to fight UK superstar Chris Eubank Jnr.

Free agent Michael Zerafa – who split from No Limit in the fallout of his controversial January no contest with Nikita Tszyu – says he’s ready to jump straight back into the fire with Eubank Jr.

Zerafa declared he’s willing to meet him at a 164lb (74kg) catchweight, with plans to stage the fight in Melbourne as early as August or September.

“We’ve agreed,” Zerafa told BoxingScene.

“The fight’s real. Talk’s real. They want to come to Australia. They’ve seen the fights with (George) Kambosos and (Devin) Haney – the two fights there (in Melbourne). They’ve seen the (Jeff) Horn and (Manny) Pacquiao fights.

The news comes just months after the 32-year-old’s chaotic clash with Tim Tszyu, which was waved off following an accidental second-round head clash that opened a cut above his eye.

Zerafa claimed he was unable to see after the cut, prompting officials to stop the fight.