Tim Tszyu got completely exposed tonight in his bid for Bakhram Murtazaliev’s IBF junior middleweight title. Period. This bout, which took place at Caribe Royal Hotel in Orlando, was a hard slap of reality, showing the fight world that the Aussie is not nearly as good as he, his team and mainstream fight fans seem to think.
Early on in the first round, it felt as if this matchup had the potential to be a successful, entertaining chess match, but Tszyu’s lackluster defense peaked from the very beginning. The longer Bakhram Murtazaliev was able to land stabbing power shots at will, knocking down Tszyu four times until his corner threw in the towel come round three.
Tszyu looked like a sitting duck as he attempted to trade blows, lacking any significant head movement, and not bothering to utilize his jab at will, which could have helped him control the ring from early on and establish a healthy fight pace in his favor. He simply got too ahead of himself, throwing high volume punches right away in round one, and continuing this preposterous pattern from the first time he stepped up from the canvas.
Tszyu’s biggest downfall? He can only box moving forward, and this is why he was consistently punished with Murtazaliev’s brutal offense and pressing left hook.
And before I receive criticism, yes, we know Tszyu can bang with SOME top contenders, but he’s proven that he is nowhere near a legacy pay-per-view fight with someone like Terence Crawford — which was a reality in days leading up to tonight.
But, the most notable part of this evening is that a legitimate world champion in Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) has arrived at 154lbs, defending his IBF strap and garnering the respect of casual boxing fans and pundits alike.
Of course, much of the division will now look to duck an undefeated world champion, because he is somebody that poses the most threat, as we all just witnessed.
For Tszyu, who fell to (24-2, 17 KOs), it’s worth wondering where he goes from here, yet we know one thing for sure: his near future is not a fight with Terence Crawford.
Jack Walsh is a New York-based journalist, currently working at a television station as a real time editor, and also an amateur boxer. He hopes to continue diving into the journalistic side of boxing and provide a unique, independent perspective. His work has also appeared in Boxing News Online.