Tszyu vs Zerafa: Tim Tszyu's mad dash to Newcastle to avoid COVID complications

Brendan Bradford

Tszyu vs Zerafa: Tim Tszyu's mad dash to Newcastle to avoid COVID complications image

Tim Tszyu has made a mad dash out of Sydney to avoid any complications around COVID restrictions in the Harbour City. 

The New South Wales government announced a new set of social distancing and travel restrictions for Greater Sydney on Wednesday after the Bondi outbreak grew by 16 cases. 

Under the new public health order regulations, people from within Metropolitan Sydney won't be allowed to travel to regional areas. 

With uncertainty around how long the restrictions will be in place, Tszyu - who lives in Sans Souci - packed up his car on Wednesday afternoon and drove to Newcastle. 

Tszyu's manager, Glen Jennings lives in Newcastle and has arranged for the 26-year-old to complete his camp in the Steel City. Trainer Igor and grandfather Boris have also made the trip. 

The new restrictions mean Tszyu has had to cancel his final trip to the Gold Coast for sparring.

He has spent several three-day mini camps in Queensland over the past month, sparring with the likes of Issac Hardman, Ben Mahoney and Benjamin Hussein.

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He was due to leave on Thursday and return on Saturday, but the Queensland government has announced travel restrictions with New South Wales. 

Tszyu's promoters, No Limit, have also relocated half its staff to Newcastle, with CEO George Rose saying it's the safest option so close to the fight. 

"He just had to get out and up to Newcastle with everything happening in Sydney," Rose told Sporting News. 

"At least it means that the fight goes ahead, but his preparation just won't be quite as good without that sparring.

"Tim's on his way to Newcastle as we speak, so if you see a black Mustang speeding up the freeway, it's Timmy Tszyu. Get out of his way." 

Although he won't get the same calibre of sparring, Jennings has some plans for Tszyu to finish the camp well in Newcastle, "but we're gonna keep those a secret."

Tszyu was still planning on heading to the Gold Coast, but changed his plans after a phone call with Jennings. 

"Tim got his bags packed and he left his house by 1pm," Jennings told Sporting News. 

"I rang Igor, told him to pick up Boris on the way and they're all on the way up and we'll finish camp here." 

The hastily made travel plans are strikingly similar to the lead-up to Tszyu's fight with Jeff Horn last year. With Sydney still dealing with COVID restrictions, Tszyu spent the final few weeks of his camp on the Gold Coast before heading to Townsville for the fight. 

"Everyone had to pack up and leave for the Horn fight, and look at the performance he put on there," Rose told Sporting News. 

"Hopefully this last minute mayhem having to leave and throwing the preparation into chaos, hopefully it has the same impact as it did in Townsville." 

Zerafa completed media duties in Sydney earlier this week, but isn't expected to be impacted by the current restrictions. 

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Brendan Bradford