EXCLUSIVE: Jeff Fenech urges Tim Tszyu to forget about Spence talk ahead of Nurja fight

Jeff Fenech says he's unsure if he'll attend Tim Tszyu's fight with Dennis Nurja in Wollongong on Sunday but confirmed he's been in regular contact with the Sydney fighter ahead of the bout with the undefeated Albanian.

As pound-for-pound legend Terence Crawford paid Tszyu a visit in camp this week and later declared "I've got Errol" when asked for his pick out of the Aussie and Spence, Fenech's role in Tszyu's preparation for the Nurja fight has been subtle.

The Hall-of-Famer has not attended Tszyu's training sessions and hasn't spoken to Tszyu's coach Pedro Diaz. That might come to a surprise to some considering Fenech was named as part of Tszyu's new team last year, following a poor stretch.

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He's been vocal about the direction Tszyu's career has taken under the guidance of his old crew, and was not too impressed by what he'd seen in training videos Tszyu had posted to social media.

Fenech did not attend Tszyu's first fight under Diaz, a trainer who has been involved with 20 world champions and several gold Olympic medallists.

He told Wide World of Sports he hopes to be in attendance on Sunday, though, not in an official capacity but to offer his support before and after. the fight.

"I'm still not sure yet. I'm just waiting to find out. I've got my little granddaughter.

"If I go down - (it will be) as a fan to watch Tim get to that next level again."

Fenech said he's been on the phone to Tszyu "heaps" but not to tinker with anything his new coach Diaz has implemented, more so to check in on a human level.

"I just want to make sure that he's happy and he's enjoying what he's doing.

"I'm not gonna tell him to change things. He's with somebody. It's just try to give him all the encouragement and confidence that I can that I can give him.

"It's been very, very positive, and, feedback between both of us has been positive.

"I'm sure that he'll be better in this fight than his last fight. It sometimes takes a little bit of time to gel with a coach – the same as a footy team. I feel that he'll be right on top of this fight."

Tszyu is taking on unbeaten Nurja, needing a win to confirm a multi-million-dollar mega bout with American former champion Errol Spence later this year.

Fenech said he's reluctant to take a more hands on approach when it comes to the technical side with Tszyu and would rather offer support from a different vantage point.

Having the likes of Diaz and Fenech in his corner is invaluable for Tszyu even though the two don't share information.

"I haven't talked to Diaz," Fenech added. "He's got his own way of doing things, I've got my way.

"He's been very successful, so hopefully he can turn that on to Tim. Everybody's a different individual, you've got to treat everybody differently.

"Tim seems really happy and that's what it's all about. If you're happier when you're training, the most important thing is you wanna get back there tomorrow.

"I can hear it in his voice. He's very happy there, which is great."

Tszyu hadn't lost in his first 23 fights before falling first to Fundora, then Bakhram Murtazaliev and subsequently lost a rematch to Fundora last July, leaving the 31-year-old at a career crossroads.

Earlier this week, Crawford spoke to reporters and pointed to the mismanagement of Tszyu's career as one of the reasons why the Sydney fighter finds himself in such a precarious spot.

"On the first fight with Fundora, Tim had him. He had him," Crawford said.

"They should have stopped that fight. That was bad coaching.

"He would have been better off if they'd stopped that fight and let him come back the second time, instead of letting him carry on and take that punishment.

"They shouldn't have sent him out there with Bakhram in the following fight," he added.

"Bakhram was just the wrong style and the wrong game plan too.

"They messed him up - and Tim was capable of doing the same thing. It was just the wrong game plan."

Despite all this Tszyu still has a chance to bank a big cheque and put himself up for big fights if he fights and defeats Spence.

That bout is worth a reported $15 million.

Crawford picked Spence to beat Tszyu in the predicted match up.

"I've got Errol," he said.

"But I think it'd be a good fight for both of them at this stage of their career.

"I'm not 100 per cent confident. I just know the calibre of fighter that Errol is, just like I know the calibre of fighter Tim is.

"Both of them have taken a lot of damage in their career so far, but I just think Errol, skill-wise, just edges it."

Fenech, though, would not fuel the narrative. He believes Tszyu can beat anyone but must not look too far ahead, considering his recent record.

"One of the things I've told Tim and everybody else around him is it's just one fight at a time.

"So I'm not sure exactly where they are with the Spence fight, but you've got to realise this, if he loses (against Nurja) or he doesn't do well, who with any common sense would throw him in against Spence?

"So it's just one fight at a time, and I know Tim knows that. I've spoken to Tim about that all the time.

"Forget about all this bullshit, just concentrate on this guy, and what he's trying to do, but it's always hard because you've got people asking questions, bringing it up.

"It's one fight at a time, climbing that ladder again and getting confident again."