WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu and his late-replacement chellenger, 6'5" Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora came face-to-face for the first time on Thursday, at a media workout before they meet for Tszyu’s WBO and the vacant WBC world titles headlining a PBC pay-per-view event available on Prime Video Saturday, March 30th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Here is what the fighters had to say Thursday from Split T Boxing Club in Las Vegas:
 
TIM TSZYU
 
“I had sparring for the new opponent come in on Monday and I was grateful for the great work they gave me. This fight is all about awkwardness when you have someone that tall. But nothing phases me. It is what it is and the show goes on.
 
“This is a unification now, so I’m very grateful for that. It’s a legacy-defining type of fight. I just have to keep doing what I’m doing and one day they’ll say that the Tszyu family is the best to ever step into this boxing world.
 
“I’ve met Fundora before and I respect him and how he fights. I just have to find the right shots. Every great boxer finds the way to win and we’ll find those keys on March 30.
 
“I talked to Brian Mendoza and he talked about how Fundora is awkward with his style and that he uses his height to his advantage in different ways.
 
“My message to the fans is definitely don’t blink during this one.”
 
SEBASTIAN FUNDORA
 
“I’m just going to keep focusing on what I need to do. My original opponent Serhii Bohachuk has a lot of similarities to Tim Tszyu, so it’s no difference for me. If I stick to my plan, I’ll be successful.
 
“I was in control of the [Brian] Mendoza fight [which Fundora lost by KO], so I don’t want to change too much because of the result, and it doesn’t really matter to me what he did against Tszyu [Mendoza lost to Tszyu by decision in his next fight after beating Fundora]. I’m just going to keep focusing on my game.
 
“I’ve been training hard all camp. We only had a little bit to fix after our last fight, but my dad and my sister keep my mind straight. My sister Gabriela just became world champion, and now it’s my turn to go do the same.
 
“A win puts me back at number one in the division. That’s where I want to be. I have my eyes on all of the big names. This is the first stone in the Fundora legacy.
 
“Having the right preparation is very important of course. But I don’t think it’s really an advantage that I was preparing for someone similar to Tszyu already. It’s about what happens when you step into the ring. Of course I believe I’m going to win this fight, but not because of an advantage like that.
 
“I want to win this fight, become unified champion and keep going from there. We want to keep moving up.”