Nikita Tszyu (right) lands a punch on Koen Mazoudier (left) – Photo courtesy of No Limit Boxing
Junior middleweight prospect Nikita ‘The Butcher’ Tszyu (10-0, 8 KOs) scored a career-best victory when he stopped Koen Mazoudier (12-4-1, 5 KOs) in the ninth round of their scheduled 10-round contest stopped by the ICC Sydney Theater in Sydney, Australia on Wednesday night.
Mazoudier, 28, had his moments early, but he really stepped up in the middle rounds of the fight. In the sixth round of their fight, he got under Tszyu’s skin and the pair traded blows for the second half of the stanza. It was a moment of ill-discipline from Tszyu. Both boxers returned to their corners and licked claret from their noses.
The fight turned into a shootout in the seventh round. Mazoudier was able to drag Tszyu into a fight in the second half of the heat. A big right hand shortly before the bell from Mazoudier bullied the underdog with confidence and he continued his aggressive onslaught in the eighth.
Tszyu went with him. The pair traded punches in the center ring for the final minute of the round.
Nikita Tszyu – Photo courtesy of No Limit Boxing
Tszyu went back to sniper mode in the ninth. He worked Mazoudier’s body with the left, but left himself open to the right hand over the top. Midway through the round, a left cross from Tszyu Mazoudier hurt and he got on with the job, emptying his tank while throwing punches with both hands to force referee Chris Condon to step in and stop the bout at the 1:05 mark. -point of the penultimate round.
It was a coming-of-age battle for the 26-year-old Sydney southpaw, who had previously been criticized for waving forward and dropping bombs in an attempt to entertain fans.
This time he did an excellent impression of his Hall of Fame father, Kostya Tszyu.
He stood his ground. He owned center ring. He did not become greedy. He received very hard counter blows to the body and head. At least until the halfway point of the fight.
It was far from a perfect performance from Tszyu, but his improvements were evident.
“I had to work for it. It wasn’t easy. The feeling at the moment is indescribable,” said Tszyu. “He was everything we expected. Koen, I tip my hat to him. He’s a tough bastard. I was honestly very, very impressed. I didn’t expect him to be so loud. I didn’t expect the fight to be so difficult.”
When asked about those tough moments mid-fight, Tszyu offered some insight into his mindset.
“I told myself, don’t be a bitch. Don’t be a bitch. Keep fighting!” he said.
Promoter George Rose of No Limit Boxing has flagged a potential showdown with local rival Michael Zerafa.
“Let’s do it. He had a lot to say leading up to it,” Rose said.
There were farcical scenes in the co-main event as Michael Zerafa (32-5, 19 KOs) was awarded victory over veteran Tommy Browne (45-9-2, 19 KOs).
Zerafa (32) came out of the gates early against the 41-year-old Browne and tried to test his reflexes and stamina. At the end of the opening round, he landed an overhand right on Browne’s jaw in their eight-round, 157-pound catchweight bout. Browne, whose best days were two decades ago at featherweight, returned to his corner with a suspected torn left bicep that he likely carried into the fight.
Trainer Tommy Mercuri called the fight with Browne sitting on his chair. Zerafa crossed the ring to have words with Browne’s trainer, calling his fighter a quitter. Mercuri walked Zerafa back to center ring and gave him a verbal spray. It was then that Zerafa’s brother and cornerman came over from the side and threw a wild right hand to Mercuri’s chin.
It was an unedifying spectacle at best.
Former US world titleholder Shawn Porter, who called the fight live from ringside, gave a scathing assessment of what happened in the ring post-fight.
“It’s unacceptable. If Michael knows his brother has the ability to do that … he shouldn’t be in his corner,” Porter said.
Zerafa’s brother was escorted from ringside.
In an IBF light heavyweight title eliminator, Conor Wallace (14-1, 10 KOs) defeated Jerome Pampellone (18-2, 11 KOs) via split decision in a 12-round bout.
In fact, England-born New Zealander Pampellone, 28, came along with the pressure. He pushed Wallace back and landed big right hands over the top in the early rounds. Some missed, some landed. He had initial success in pounding Wallace on the ropes, but the 28-year-old Irish southpaw, who boxes out of Brisbane, Australia, weathered the storm and found a home for his own left cross behind a slick lead hand flurry.
By mid-fight the fight looked close and through 10 frames it looked like the fight was hanging in the balance. But the smart footwork and smart shot selection of Wallace saw him pull away in the championship rounds, with judges Adam Height and Chris Condon both scoring the fight 116-112 for the winner, while judge Carl Zappia Pampellone saw the winner 115-113 .
“It means everything to me, we stuck to the game plan. I barely touched,” Wallace said in the ring after the fight. “I’m just getting started. I’m just a baby.”
Wallace now finds himself in position to challenge the winner of the vacant Ring Championship fight between Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) and Dmitri Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) on October 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will take place. .
