Nikita Tszyu moved to 10-0 following a stunning display of violence to stop Koen Mazoudier in the ninth round of an instant classic at the ICC Sydney Theatre on Wednesday night.
Both men enjoyed periods of momentum and Mazoudier looked to be the fighter finishing the stronger until an exhausted Tszyu landed a left hand before following up with a brutal barrage to end the bout.
“It’s everything that we expected, everything that we advertised,” Tszyu said post-fight.
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“I take my hat off to Koen, he’s one tough, tough bastard.
“I was honestly very, very impressed. I did not expect him to be that hard. I didn’t expect the fight to be that hard.”
The bout had exploded into life late in the second round when Tszyu connected with a straight left hand, nearly dropping Mazoudier who was able to recover and get to the bell in the face of an onslaught from the southpaw.
Tszyu landed two more hard lefts late in the third but that seemed to spur Mazoudier on as he fired back and scored with some long-range shots of his own.
The fight changed pace in the fourth when the pair opted to go head-to-head in centre ring, trading hooks in close, with Tszyu seemingly getting the better of the exchange.
Tszyu’s frequency and intensity of offensive output looked as if it had taken its toll by the sixth round as he slowed slightly and Mazoudier found some success on the front foot, not without some resistance.
The pair then turned in a round of the year contender in the seventh as Mazoudier continued to land power shots, appearing to wobble Tszyu in the final minute, prompting “The Butcher” to fight fire with fire as they traded hard shots to the bell.
An already superb fight went to another level in the eighth as a confident Mazoudier kept the pressure on to have Tszyu in trouble, only for hard shots coming back the other way to slow his forward march and see Tszyu find a second wind.
That second wind would prove the difference in the end as Tszyu landed a hard left to rock Mazoudier in the ninth, emptying the tank in response and eventually forcing the stoppage.
“There was a moment at the start where I kind of got him and then there was a point in the middle where I was kind of out on my feet and I remember [coach Igor Golubev] looking up to me and [asking], ‘Am I gonna stop the fight?’ I’m like, ‘No.’ I had to push through and dig deep,” Tszyu added.
“I just kept saying, ‘don’t be a bitch, don’t be a p***y, keep fighting.’”
Previously, the co-main event had descended into chaos when Tommy Browne retired at the end of the first round having suffered a suspected bicep injury.
An angry Zerafa remonstrated with Browne’s trainer Tommy Mercuri, accusing his charge of quitting, before all hell broke loose as Zerafa’s brother, who had been in his corner, entered the ring and punched the veteran cornerman before security could come in to calm the situation.
Earlier, Brisbane-based Northern Irishman Conor Wallace put himself in pole position for a world title shot at light heavyweight with a split-decision victory over Jerome Pampellone.
Wallace weathered an early storm from “The Panther” and eventually found a solid rhythm, stringing together combinations at range to set up the biggest win over his career and hand Pampellone his second loss in a row.
Take a look at the full card results below:
Nikita Tszyu vs. Koen Mazoudier full card resultsBouts and order subject to change
Nikita Tszyu def. Koen Mazoudier via TKO9Michael Zerafa def. Tommy Browne via TKO1Connor Wallace def. Jerome Pampellone via SD12 (116-112 x2, 115-113)Dharringarra Trewhella def. Calvin Jensen via UD6 (58-56 x3)Billy Polkinghorn def. Michael Reynolds via UD5 (49-46, 50-45 x2)Sonny Knight def. Laban Stringer via SD4 (39-37, 37-39, 40-36)Jasmine Parr def. Pannaporn Kaewpawong via UD6 (60-54 x3)Mounir Fathi def. Suitama Manuele via TKO2 (Corner stoppage)Mai Soliman def. Connie Brown via SD6 (58-56, 57-58, 59-55)Max McIntyre def. L-B Matthew via TKO3How to watch Nikita Tszyu vs. Koen Mazoudier?The Tszyu vs. Mazoudier fight card will be available live on Fox Sports, Main Event, and Kayo.
Foxtel subscribers can purchase the pay-per-view portion of the night through Main Event, with Kayo users able to purchase Tszyu vs. Mazoudier through the app.
The first fight of the evening begins at 5:30pm AEST, while the PPV portion of the card begins at 7:00pm AEST.
TV ChannelFox Sports 3 (5:30pm-7:00pm)
Main Event (From 7:00pm)
StreamingKayo (5:30pm-7:00pm)
Kayo PPV (From 7:00pm)
What time is Nikita Tszyu vs. Koen Mazoudier?Nikita Tszyu vs. Koen Mazoudier takes place on Wednesday, August 28, with the first fight at 5:00pm and the main PPV card to kick off at 7:00pm AEST.
Tszyu and Mazoudier will likely step into the ring around 10:00pm, depending on the length of the earlier fights.
