What is Tim Tszyu's ethnicity? Exploring the professional boxer's heritage, family background, and more

Tim Tszyu is among the most well-known boxers today and is widely considered one of Australia's biggest sports personalities. The 30-year-old notably held the WBO junior middleweight title from 2023 to 2024 and has an impressive professional record of 25-2.

Tszyu is set to face Sebastian Fundora in a highly anticipated title rematch this weekend at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. Ahead of his upcoming showdown, let's take a look at the boxer's ethnicity and heritage.

What is Tim Tszyu's ethnicity?

Tim Tszyu was born in Sydney, Australia, to Russian parents. The 'Soul Taker' is notably the son of Russian-born Australian boxing legend Kostya Tszyu, who held the undisputed and lineal light welterweight championships between 2001 and 2005.

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Tszyu's father is of ethnic Korean, Russian, and Mongolian descent, while his mother, Natasha Anikina, is of ethnic Russian descent. He also has a younger brother, Nikita Tszyu, who is a professional boxer with a perfect 10-0 record.

Given his heritage, Tszyu is fluent in Russian and has previously admitted that it was the first language he learnt to speak. Despite moving to Australia, the Tszyu household followed a "Soviet lifestyle" and the boxing superstar grew up speaking in Russian with his parents and grandparents.

In an interview with @PremierBoxingChampions on YouTube, 'Soul Taker' opened up about his upbringing and said:

"Yeah, I'm fluent in Russian... It was my first language. Living in Australia, but as soon as you walk into our house, it's Russia. It's straight into the Soviet-type lifestyle. So, yeah, I do speak Russian with my grandparents, my mum, and my dad."

Check out the full video below:

Tszyu is coming off a fourth-round knockout win over Joseph Spencer in April. Before that, he lost the WBO light middleweight title to Sebastian Fundora via a razor-sharp split decision last March before getting knocked out in the third round against Bakhram Murtazaliev last October.

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Edited by Nishant Zende.