IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) looked like a monster on Saturday night, dropping former WBO champion Tim Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs) four times on his way to knocking him out in the third round at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. With Tszyu badly injured and in distress, his corner threw in the towel in the third round to save their fighter. The fight was officially stopped at 1:55 Mark.
(Credit: Joseph Correa/Premier Boxing Champions)
Murtazaliev caught Tszyu with a huge left hook to the head in the second round to put him on the canvas. Rather than choosing to box to recover, Tszyu immediately went on the attack as he got back up and was nailed by another left hook from Murtzaliev that knocked him down for the second time.
In the final seconds of round two, Murtazaliev dropped Tszyu again. Tszyu was in bad shape when he got back to his feet. The round at that point, otherwise Tszyu would have been put down again.
At the start of the third, the referee had Tszyu examined by the ring doctor to see if he could still fight. The crowd booed the delay of the round.
Ignoring his corner’s advice, Tszyu went after Murtzaliev, taking big shots and landing another left hook to the head. That fourth Knockdown of the fight. Tszyu showed his fighting spirit by getting up and continuing. Murtaliev went for the kill and landed some heavy shots against a staggering, off his feet Tszyu. At that point, Tszyu’s corner threw in the towel to stop the fight.
“The better man won tonight. No excuses. I tried my best. Boxing is not meant to be perfect,” Tszyu said after the fight. “I think it was after the first shot. Things did not go according to plan. He’s the man at 154. He’s the champion.”
This loss is Tszyu’s second in a row and puts his career on the line, and it will be very difficult for him to come back from this loss.
Last updated on 20/10/2024
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