Everyone knows about Anatoly Malykhin’s boxing. The Russian might come from a wrestling background but it is his hands that have caught the eye during his run at the ONE Championship heavyweight king.
Some of the best boxers in the world are now seeking out the man behind Malykhin’s punching prowess. John Hutchinson is the boxing coach at Tiger Muay Thai and has been working with Tim Tszyu this week.
Tszyu holds the WBO light middleweight title and has an immaculate 24-0 record. His father was a boxing world champion who fought Julio César Chávez and Ricky Hatton back in the day.
Tszyu was born in Australian but both his parents are Russian. He might more than 50lbs lighter than Malykhin but the two men have been working together on some footwork drills in Phuket:
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Surprise gift
Hutchinson retired from the ring with a record of 12-2-3. The Irishman fought in Australia and Thailand and won some regional titles but has become far more renowned as a coach than a fighter.
Last year Malykhin and former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan chipped in to buy the boxing coach a truck. Both men wanted to express their gratitude to Hutchinson for the help he had given them preparing for big fights.
Tszyu does not currently have a fight booked. He beat Brian Mendoza by decision in October in his first title defence as the undisputed WBO light middleweight champion.
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Potential opponent
Tszyu has spent his entire career competing in Australia. He is looking to fight in Las Vegas for the first time and could be competing there in March with Jermell Charlo a potential opponent.
Charlo is coming off a decision loss to Saul Alvarez in a super middleweight fight. Prior to that the American was the WBC, WBC, IBF and WBO light middleweight champion.
That WBO title is now the property of Tszyu but he has made it clear he wants to face Charlo inside the ring. It looks set to be a big year for the Australian and he is using his time off to train with one of the most renowned boxing coaches in Thailand.
