IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) blitzed Tim Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs), scoring a lightning-quick third-round TKO on Saturday night time in Orlando, Florida.
(Credit score: Joseph Correa/Premier Boxing Champions)
Murtazaliev, 31, made a press release along with his four-knockdown, third-round stoppage of the previous WBO 154-lb champion Tszyu tonight, who has seen his once-promising profession turned the wrong way up.
This was Tszyu’s second consecutive defeat, and his profession is now in dangerous form. It will likely be onerous for him to claw his manner again to the place he was a yr in the past earlier than he suffered his first loss in opposition to Sebastian Fundora.
These two defeats have proven that Tszyu can’t afford to proceed being a slugger as a result of he lacks the scale, energy, or chin to take that strategy.
After the combat tonight, Murtazaliev stated he needs one among these fighters subsequent:
– Errol Spence– Terence Crawford– Sebastian Fundora
When requested if he’d be excited about preventing former undisputed 154-lb champion Jermell Charlo, Murtazaliev stated he needs the above checklist in order that he can combat for world titles. Jermell selected to not combat Murtazaliev in 2023 when he was his IBF necessary, and he was ordered to combat him. As an alternative, Jermell vacated his IBF belt.
“We simply labored on these mixtures on a regular basis, and when the combat got here, it was automated,” stated Murtazaliev. “We labored for ten weeks on these punches that harm him. We created alternatives, and we believed that we may win this combat.”
Murtazaliev is a nonstop puncher, and Tszyu’s choice to slug with him on Saturday night time performed into his palms. Tszyu didn’t comply with the identical combat technique that Murtazaliev’s earlier opponent, Jack Culcay, had used in opposition to him earlier this yr. Culcay was boxing Murtazaliev, and he made it tough to knock him out. The 38-year-old made it to the eleventh spherical earlier than Murtazaliev lastly stopped him, and that was with him preventing cautiously.
“My priorities are to combat for extra titles in opposition to Spence, Fundora, or Crawford. But when we are able to’t make it occur, then we’ll select the best choice for us that can give us the perfect alternatives,” stated Murtazaliev to the media when requested if he’d be excited about preventing inactive WBA Champion in Recess Jermell Charlo subsequent.
Spence and Fundora are presupposed to combat subsequent. Nevertheless, if Spence wins, he’s doubtless going to push for a rematch with Crawford as a result of he has unfinished enterprise with him from his loss final yr, and it’s a much bigger cash combat for him than preventing Murtazaliev.
