Tim Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs) was near tears speaking to the media following his third-round stoppage against IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) on Saturday night at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Their contest was shown live on Amazon Prime, and a lot of fans witnessed the third-round TKO obliteration of the former WBO junior middleweight champion Tszyu. The power punching from Murtazaliev was impressive. He looked like a machine inside the ring, hurting Tszyu repeatedly with left hooks to put him on the canvas.
The Tszyu loss was a brutal affair, with him suffering four knockdowns at the hands of the big puncher Murtazaliev. Three knockdowns came in the fateful second round, and the fourth came in round three.
Tszyu’s corner mercifully threw in the towel to save their stricken fighter in the third when he was getting the living daylights beaten out of him by the heavy-handed Murtazaliev.
The TKO win for Murtazaliev looked easy tonight, as Tszyu went straight at him, trying to slug instead of boxing him like his recent opponent Jack Culcay had done.
It was a dominant performance by Murtazaliev, who showed that he’s one of the top fighters now in the 154-lb division. Before tonight’s fight, Murtazaliev was largely unknown and seen as a mere belt-holder. This victory shows that Murtazaliev is one of the elite in the division.
“What the f*** just happened? What did I get hit with?” said Tszyu after the fight, speaking to the media about his third-round TKO loss to Murdazaliev on Saturday night. “I couldn’t regroup. I don’t know. S*** doesn’t go your way. You just have to bounce back.
“I was positive after Fundora, but I’ve got to find answers for this one. This didn’t go according to script. It was a little bit different. I felt unbelievable, to be honest. I had great prep. He got me, man. He was the better man tonight. We live, and we learn,” said Tszyu.
