Bowyn Morgan will miss Christmas with his partner and three kids after fighting Tim Tszyu in Sydney due to New Zealand’s strict COVID-19 quarantine measures.
Morgan, 31, will fight Tszyu on December 16, before flying home for a mandatory two-week hotel quarantine.
If he leaves the day after the fight, the earliest he’ll be allowed out is December 31.
It’s a huge sacrifice for the biggest opportunity of his career, and one that’s driving the 2014 Commonwealth Games representative to push even harder in his preparation.
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“We’re arriving in Sydney five days before the fight, but the big one is coming back,” Morgan told Sporting News.
“We have to quarantine for two weeks on the way back. That means isolation for Christmas.
“At the moment, there’s been talks on this side that everything’s closed. Everything’s booked up isolation-wise, because people do want to come back and have Christmas here – all the Kiwis.
“We are jumping through a few hoops with that.”
Morgan is no stranger to the big stage, having fought on a couple of Joseph Parker undercards in Auckland and Christchurch, but an opportunity to headline a stadium card against the rising star of Australian boxing will be highlight of his professional career by some margin.
Still, it wasn’t a decision he took lightly.
“I’ve got three girls, so that was the first chat with my partner,” he said.
Watch our full chat with Bowyn Morgan here
“Just ‘are you ok with this’ rather than just making the decision by myself, because we’re a team. She had to have a big say in that, but she gave me the green light and I said ‘let’s go.’
“There were discussions of bringing them with me, but I don’t want any of that in my mind. No distractions.”
In a year when everything has been upended by the pandemic, it’s not the only adjustment Morgan has had to make recently.
He was scheduled to fight in March, but the card was scrapped as New Zealand introduced lockdown measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Based in Greymouth on the west coast of the South Island, Morgan moved his personal training online as the country adapted to the new normal.
He says his day job helping others stay fit was crucial in keeping him motivated to train.
“We were two weeks away from fighting for a title before COVID happened,” he said.
“That fight, with the IBF, we were already in the rankings at 15, and that would have dropped us into the top 10 of the IBF and we’d have been knocking on the door of world titles.
“I gave so much to it and not to be able to show that was very disappointing. I definitely had some time to reflect on that, let it be, leave it alone and not dwell on it.
“Our business went online in lockdown, and that gave me the accountability to stay in shape, go for runs every morning and seeing everyone from the gym online.
“We’re not afraid to get in the hurt zone with everyone. I found it was a great point of accountability to keep training and carrying on.”
With a 21-1 record, Morgan’s only loss was to Kris George in 2016 and he and Tszyu have three common opponents.
They each knocked out Stevie Ferdinandus and Ben Nelson, while Morgan earned a six round decision win over Ivana Siau, who Tszyu stopped in two rounds.
Their fight will be a return to super welterweight for Morgan after his last two fights were at welter.
A come forward fighter with 11 knockouts on his record, Morgan says his clash with Tszyu won’t be going to the scorecards.
“It ain’t gonna last. It’s not gonna go the distance,” he said.
“I can’t give you a round, but it’s not going the distance.
“I’m aggressive, I love coming forward on the front foot. I’m a short fighter, so there’s no point in me trying to be on the outside.
“Tim said it’s good, he won’t have to chase me around, so we can tussle up. Let’s see if he’s a man of his word.
“He’s done well. He’s got a great style, he’s fought some good guys and is just going up. I’m looking to give him something he hasn’t had before.”
