Tim Tszyu was No Limit's $4 million golden goose. His nosediving career has led to a massive risk

Risk is usually a much discussed topic at any press conference for a professional boxing bout.

It's not hard to figure out. Punches thrown, money on the line. The term was thrown around quite fervently at last Wednesday's media gathering for Nikita Tszyu's bout with Michael Zerafa.

While Zerafa was keen to point out that Nikita was fighting to "save the last name" after "Tim fell short", there's a lot more riding on this fight than the bad blood between the two, which stems from Zerafa making light of Kostya Tszyu's loss to Ricky Hatton, which ended the ageing champion's career.

FORM GUIDE: Huge 'question mark' lingers over Cup fancy

READ MORE: The 'crucial' reason a Cup winner is backing a $23 long shot

READ MORE: Panthers rocked by death of club legend

The Tszyu brothers are the golden boys of Australian boxing, even though Jai Opetaia is by far the more accomplished and popular fighter internationally. But with Tim picking up the pieces of his career after losing three of his last four fights, his local backers find themselves at a crossroads.

From his professional debut in 2016 until his first pro loss to Sebastian Fundora in 2024, Tszyu's last name and success on the domestic scene added a buzz to the sport the likes of which had not been seen in years.

And along with that, Tszyu put a lot of money in the pockets of promoters No Limit and broadcasters. That money has dried up somewhat.

Early on, as the son of fight legend Kostya earned a name for himself, clearing out local fighters before taking on the world stage, he was fighting three to four times a year.

After making his debut in December 2016 against Zoran Cassidy, Tszyu fought six times in 2017 and four times in 2018 and '19.

Over the past two years he's entered the ring twice, while in 2023 he fought on three occasions.

A promoter's agreement with a fighter is unique, depending on the talent and the length and price of the deal.

In many cases it isn't a fixed rate and can involve various streams of revenue the fighter brings in. Generally, promoters can take anywhere from 20-25 percent.

Tszyu's fight earnings aren't publicly available but according to website Sporty Salaries he's netted as much as $17 million during his career, not including the latest bout with Fundora.

If that's accurate it's possible Tszyu has earned $4 million-plus for No Limit off his own back.

When Fox Sports entered into an exclusive agreement with No Limit, which effectively barred other local promoters from their screens, they put all their eggs in the Tszyu basket as they basked in the sun amid the ever-growing hype around the Sydney fighter.

But the eggs may have hatched too soon.

In the fickle game of boxing, three losses, especially the latest where he refused to get off his stool for the 8th round against Fundora, means people may not want to part ways with $60 or more to see more of the same, especially when they've been on the ride and witnessed mismatches early on.

Boxing is all about narrative. Now that Tszyu has taken on a new trainer in Pedro Diaz and moved his training camps to Miami to work with the Cuban trainer, he has given himself a chance to keep people invested, even though he's on the tightest of tightropes.

If he can stay on the tightrope for a while and deliver wins on the world stage then it will be even more fruitful for those directly invested.

And as Tszyu attempts his long road back, promoters No Limit need to keep the wheel turning.

Luckily, the addition of Queensland's Liam Paro to their stable means they'll be able to stage bigger events but in many respects, the rivers of gold that Tszyu delivered are no longer flowing.

That's where Nikita Tszyu and Michael Zerafa come in.

Nikita has been working to build an 11-0 record, yet if promoters had their way, Tim Tszyu would be in the ring against Zerafa, not Nikita. The beef was with Tim initially and that fight, if it ever eventuates, could be one of Australia's highest grossing ever.

But since Tim is adamant that he won't take domestic fights in his quest to add more value to his name on the international stage, promoters No Limit went with the next best thing.

It's not to say that Tim's grudge against Zerafa does not extend to Nikita - because it does - but the risk at such an early point in Nikita's career could prove costly.

Many critics chirped about Tim's lack of defence and head movement in his recent losses, but to eagle-eyed observers, Nikita has the same pitfalls and is in a much earlier stage in his professional boxing journey.

With the bet on Nikita against an experienced campaigner like Zerafa, with 37 fights and who fought for a world title last year, albeit a TKO loss in the second round, those on the periphery are going all in despite lingering theories on the younger Tszyu's ability to avoid punches.

If Nikita, does not have his hand raised on January 16 just 11 fights into his career, then No Limit finds itself in a spot of bother.

Both Tszyu brothers would have faced defeat the last time they entered the ring and both would arguably be in rebuild mode, potentially bringing their broadcast value into question, with highly anticipated fights out of sight for the time being.

Nikita has the punching power to inflict damage, but has only fought in ten round contests three times since turning pro in 2022.

The majority of his bouts have been scheduled for six rounds, with his clash against Jack Brubaker scheduled for eight.

Regardless of the doubts about Nikita's readiness for such a bout, the money to be made out of a Tszyu v Zerafa fight is a promoter's dream and outweighs all the cons.

Yet the long view would be to have Nikita face Zerafa 18 months down the road from now to get more ring time under his belt, and without the pressure of having to carry the torch for his brother after the devastating loss to Fundora.

However as they say - if it makes dollars - it makes sense.