Tszyu welcomes ‘more mellow’ Kostya back into the fold

Knowing it’s no longer his show, the great Kostya Tszyu has been granted unrestricted access to his son’s world title blockbuster in Florida.

Barely two years after declaring his Hall of Famer dad persona non grata at his fights after causing “chaos” barking instructions on his debut in Sydney, Tim Tszyu is rolling out the red carpet ahead of the pair’s much-anticipated reunion on Sunday.

Tszyu reckons his old man behaved like “a pain in the arse” that night at the SCG back in 2016, but all has seemingly been forgiven ahead of Kostya’s return to ringside.

“He’s got front row. Front row,” Tszyu said ahead of his showdown with undefeated Russian super-welterweight strap holder Bakhram Murtazaliev at the Caribe Royale Orlando resort.

“I used to think it’s about controlling my dad but it’s how I control it.

“Hopefully he behaves.”

Tszyu’s agent Glen Jennings, who also managed Kostya, has no doubts the former unified world champion will behave just fine and won’t need a talking-to.

“I’ve left it wide open as to how it all plays out. He’s got a front-row seat with family members, which is great,” Jennings told AAP.

“I know Kostya and we’re happy for him to come to the dressing room and I’d love him to walk out with us, just as an acceptance and a thank you for him being here.

“But he may choose not to, and that’s entirely up to him.

“And on the night, Tim might say ‘yeah, let’s do it’ or he might say ‘no, just tell dad to enjoy the fight’.

“Whatever will be, will be. But I’m sure it’s going to be a celebration of just him being here with us.”

While the pair enjoyed a great training camp together in Thailand earlier this year, it was mostly a father-son reunion following some 15 years of Kostya living with his new family in his native Russia.

The 55-year-old knows his place and knows full well Tszyu’s uncle Igor is very much the 29-year-old’s boxing boss these days.

“It’s accepted and agreed that Igor is the coach and Kostya won’t try to interfere with that,” Jennings said.

“He’ll be excited, animated. I remember the first fight – I sat next to him and he nearly broke my wrist all night trying to sit him down and shoosh him up.

“But that’s nearly 10 years ago. He’s much more mellow now.

“He understands that Tim’s team has been together for 25 fights and so he wouldn’t expect to be able to just walk in and change anything.

“That’s not what it’s about. It’s just about family, about father and son and an opportunity to be part of something special.

“He understands that and he will be a positive influence. There will be nothing negative about him being there, I can guarantee you that.”