Former junior middleweight crown holder Tim Tszyu’s career was derailed last year after suffering a split decision loss to Sebastian Fundora and a one-sided, third-round stoppage to Bakhram Murtazaliev.

Tszyu (25-2, 18 KOs) picked up the pieces of his once-promising career when he knocked out Joseph Spencer in five rounds during a homecoming fight on April 6 in Newcastle, Australia.

The rebound victory was a welcome development for the 30-year-old Tszyu, who’s calendar year of 2024 was filled with curveballs.

Tszyu was originally supposed to face Keith Thurman instead of Fundora but Thurman was forced to pull out of the fight with less than two weeks’ notice due to a biceps injury. Against Fundora, Tszyu suffered a nasty gash on his head in the second round and was forced to finish the fight in a gutsy and competitive bloodbath.

Tszyu was then supposed to face Vergil Ortiz Jr. in August but the cut wasn’t healing properly, so he later pivoted toward a title shot against Murtazaliev and got mauled in three rounds.

“Some things are out of your control,” Tszyu told The Ring in an interview. “It's weird. One year, sh!t just turned sideways. Right now it's about getting back to what I can control and where I belong.”

Tszyu, ranked No. 7 by The Ring at 154 pounds, has some work to do in order to get back into the title mix. The plan is to next get the Thurman fight back on the front burner for a fight later this year.

As for the rest of the division’s top players, since WBA belt holder Terence Crawford has his sights set on a slugfest with super middleweight king Canelo Alvarez, it’s currently the WBC and WBO champion Fundora and IBF title holder Murtazaliev who are the standout stars.

Tszyu is the most qualified person to pick a winner between Fundora (22-1-1, 14 KOs) and Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) if the much-discussed matchup materializes. For now, he’s siding with “The Towering Inferno.”

“Fundora has the top dog status,” said Tszyu. “It’s a good division. It’s red hot right now and there are many fights to be made … I think Fundora [beats Murtazaliev]. I think Fundora is a better boxer, to be honest with you. Bakhram has power but he's very easily hit. I can't base my fight with him because I never got to show myself. It ended so early. When fights go early, and you’re caught early, it's not a way to determine what could have happened.”

With a smile, Tszyu warned the rest of the division not to panic from facing the Russian boogeyman Murtazaliev, who knocked him down three times while heading into the fight with a broken hand.

“Don’t be scared – it happens. [Murtazaliev] had some pop. When he hit me [the power] was different,” said Tszyu.

“I went in there recklessly and I got caught stupidly. That's all it was. It was inches. I came out not the way I was supposed to. Usually I am much more strategic and figure my opponent out. This time I came in trying to go for the knockout straight away. It was a bit of inexperience right there.”