Denis Nurja vs Tim Tszyu Preview April 5th, 2026
Former WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Tim Tszyu of Sydney, Australia returns to the ring in his homeland this Sunday, April 5th to take on unbeaten Denis Nurja of Albania. The 10-round middleweight bout and can be seen live Down Under on pay-per-view on Main Event, Kayo Sports and Amazon Prime Video. Tszyu last fought in December when he beat Anthony Velazquez by a wide 10-round unanimous decision. In his previous outing five months earlier Tszyu was stopped after seven rounds by WBC Junior Middleweight Champion Sebastian Fundora in a rematch. The two first met in March, 2024 with Fundora taking Tszyu’s WBO Title via split decision in in a bloody battle. After losing his title to Fundora, Tszyu was halted in his next fight in the seventh round by Bakhram Murtazaliev in a shot at the IBF Title. Nurja last saw action in February when he stopped Jose Gregorio Marcano in the first round. This weekend’s fight is for the vacant WBO International Middleweight Title.
Nurja vs Tszyu Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Denis Nurja +800
- Tim Tszyu -1500
My Pick
The 32-year-old Nurja climbs through the ropes with a perfect mark of 20-0 with 9 Ko’s and has fought 83 rounds since turning pro in 2018 following his amateur which saw him become an eight time Albanian National Amateur Champion. Nurja resides in Italy and spends time training in England and this will be his first pro fight outside of Europe. Unfortunately there’s no height and reach information available for him but as far as power goes, his current knockout ratio clocks in at 45 per cent and he’s halted four of his last eight opponents.
Nurja possesses good boxing IQ, but he’s taking a big step up in class against Tzsyu as he’s yet to face a legitimate world contender as a pro. His 2023, bout against Placido Ramirez in Albania was ruled a no-contest after four rounds when fans entered the boxing ring to attack Ramirez. Nurja’s biggest win has been a fourth-round TKO over the previously unbeaten (17-0) Charles Shinima in Albania in 2024.
The Tszyu name is well known in boxing as Tim is the son of former world champion Kostya Tszyu and the brother of Nikita Tszyu. The 31-year-old climbs into the ring with a mark of 26-3 with 18 Ko’s and stands just under 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 70.5-inch. He possesses better-than-average power as 69.2 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but he has has gone the distance in five of his last nine fights and has lost three of his past five.
Between his loss to Bakhram Murtazaliev and his second defeat to Sebastian Fundora, he bounced back to halt Joseph Spencer in the fourth round 12 months ago to win the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Junior Middleweight Bout. Tszyu has boxed 165 rounds since making his pro debut in 2016 following a good amateur career and has also captured the interim WBA Oceania, WBO Asia Pacific, WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental, IBF Australasian, Commonwealth, WBO Global, and Australian Super Welterweight Titles since turning pro. His first step up in class came in August, 2020 when he stopped former world champion Jeff Horn in the seventh round.
He then halted former world champion Tony Harrison in the ninth round in March, 2023 to claim the Interim WBO Title and was elevated to full champion when Jermell Charlo was stripped of the belt when he fought Canelo Alvarez. Tszyu has also faced and beat legitimate contenders in Carlos Ocampo, Brian Mendoza, Terrell Gausha and Takeshi Inoue as they fought for world titles in the past and also has wins over the likes of Dennis Hogan, Wade Ryan, Steve Spark, Jack Brubaker, Ruben Webster, Larry Siwu, Denton Vassell, Joel Camilleri and the late Dwight Ritchie.
Prediction…
Tszyu is hoping his tough times are now over after losing a few fights, being stopped twice and also losing his world title. This is an important fight for him as he hopes to revive his career and is reportedly attempting to land a fight with former world champion Errol Spence. Tszyu is facing a relative unknown here in Nurja, but he is unbeaten. As long as he’s relentless in his attack I’m expecting Tszyu to leave the ring with a victory.
Tszyu’s experience against top opposition should be too much for Nurja.
Play Tzsyu -1500 @ BetOnline.ag
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Denis Nurja betting • Tim Tszyu betting