Medical Ruling Forces Tim Tszyu Out Of Aug. 3 Vergil Ortiz Jr. Bout

Tim Tszyu spent most of his battle against Sebastian Fundora on March 30 in Las Vegas covered in blood due to a collision of head and elbow. Fundora won Tszyu's WBO title and the vacant WBC belt by split decision. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)

May

by Jake Donovan |

One of the most anticipated fights of the summer schedule is no longer in play.

Multiple sources have confirmed that Tim Tszyu (24-1, 17 knockouts) was forced to withdraw from his planned Aug. 3 showdown versus Vergil Ortiz Jr. A gruesome cut suffered in his March 30 defeat to Sebastian Fundora has not fully healed in time to receive medical clearance to return that soon

Fight Freak Unite’s Dan Rafael was the first to report the development.

Tszyu-Ortiz was due to serve as part of the Israil Madrimov-Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford card in Los Angeles. The bout’s placement was key given the stakes. Madrimov will defend his WBA 154-pound title versus Crawford, while the Tszyu-Ortiz winner would claim the interim WBA title.

It remains unclear whether Ortiz (21-0, 21 KOs) will remain on the show or wait for a rescheduled date versus Tszyu.

Australia’s Tszyu suffered his lone career defeat via split decision, albeit in a valiant effort versus Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs). The Ring’s No. 2-rated 154-pounder jumped off to a strong start in the opening round. However, a sloppy exchange saw Tszyu’s head land into Fundora’s elbow to produce the horrific gash atop his scalp.

Fundora fought through a broken nose to claim the WBO and vacant WBC title. He supplanted Tszyu as The Ring’s No. 1-rated junior middleweight.

It came at a cost, as he suffered a broken nose, which placed him under 180-day suspension. The delay was just long enough to avoid having to commit to a mandatory title defense versus Crawford. Fundora will now reportedly face Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) in October, though the fight was not yet announced.

Ortiz immediately accepted the fight, as he was highly motivated to make up for lost time.

The 26-year-old Texan did not fight at all in 2023. Illness forced him to withdraw from two scheduled fight dates with Eimantas Stanionis. He hadn’t fought since August 2022 prior to this year’s return. Two knockout wins have followed

A career-long 17-month inactive stretch ended in January. Ortiz has since earned back-to-back first round knockouts versus Fredrick Lawson and Thomas Dulorme.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Follow @JakeNDaBox

READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE RING FOR FREE VIA THE NEW APP NOW. SUBSCRIBE NOW TO ACCESS MORE THAN 10 YEARS OF BACK ISSUES.