Tszyu (26-3, 18 KOs) will make his middleweight debut this weekend against little-known Albanian contender Denis Nurja (20-0, 9 KOs) at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong on Sunday Australian time on Kayo Sports and Saturday US time on Prime Video.

If the -1100 betting favorite Tszyu gets past Nurja as expected, a fight against former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) should be in store for this summer.

“Nurja seems ready, which is good. I need to win, and the win comes from the way I want to do it,” Tszyu said during his media availability this week. “This is the rise. I feel like I did fall apart. I am putting the wheels back in motion. I’m gunning straight back to that No.1 spot, and whoever is in the way of that, they’re in danger.”

Tszyu was riding high in 2024 as the WBO junior middleweight champion. But he met his match in March of that year against Sebastian Fundora. The 31-year-old New South Wales native was on the losing end of a split decision and grueling bloodbath against Fundora.

Tszyu didn’t take much time to reset, fighting then IBF 154-pound titleholder Bakhram Murtazaliev just seven months later, only to get dropped four times and brutally stopped in three rounds.

Tszyu briefly regained form with a four-round stoppage win against Joseph Spencer last April but fell short again in a rematch versus Fundora in July, getting dropped and quitting in his corner after seven rounds.

“I wouldn’t say I fear losing, but it’s not a good feeling, and it’s not something I want to experience again,” said Tszyu. “My motivation throughout this training camp, and in life right now, is victory by any means necessary.

“I’ve changed myself to a certain extent, but I just can’t wait to get in there and bang on, let the dog come out. All of them watch the Bakhram fight. I sleep with my right hand on my chin. I’m well aware that’s what they are thinking – throwing the left hook. They think it’s my kryptonite. I just want to point it out. I’m very well aware of it.”

Tszyu last fought in December and scored a shutout 10-round unanimous decision win against Anthony Velazquez.

While Nurja appears to be nowhere near the level of threat that Fundora and Murtazaliev presented, Tszyu realizes the potential danger that could be in store with a shaky performance.

“Everything is at risk – your whole career. That’s what you do in this sport. You put everything on the line every time,” said Tszyu. “The biggest risk is not just losing, but your health. You’re always one punch away, so I prepare strongly every time because I know what’s ahead.

“You’ve got to put it all on the line. We’re in this sport for a short, minimal amount of time, and you’ve just got to make the most of every opportunity.

“The word annihilation has been in my head and repeated in my head for the last seven weeks. That’s all I want to do. My whole purpose right now is just to annihilate.”

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan