| |
|
|
Tim Tszyu Dominates Previously Unbeaten
Denis Nurja By Unanimous Decision
Australian superstar and former world champion Tim Tszyu
earned a second consecutive dominant unanimous decision
victory as he overwhelmed the previously unbeaten Denis
Nurja in the main event of PBC Championship Boxing on Prime
Video action on Saturday night (U.S. time) from the
Wollongong Entertainment Centre in Australia.
“He’s tough and I expected that,” said Tszyu (27-3, 18 KOs).
“He came in with the perfect record, so I knew he was no
joke. I had him a couple times but he didn’t drop. Those
were some good rounds. I was trying to take him out, he’s
just tough. Big respect.”
In his second fight with trainer Pedro Diaz, Tszyu continued
his rise back to world title contention at 154 pounds with a
strong overall performance that saw him dominate early and
often. Tszyu faced some adversity early in round four when a
headbutt caused a cut under his left eye, but he quickly
bounced back just a minute later when he caught Nurja (20-1,
9 KOs) with a left hook that put Nurja on the mat.
Nurja was able to rise to his feet, but continued to take
punishment, including an overhand right in round six that
wobbled the Albanian. In round seven, a desperate Nurja was
deducted a point for excessive holding. Tszyu continued to
pour the offense on across the last three rounds, wobbling
Nurja in the final ten seconds.
After 10 rounds, Tszyu won the shutout decision with the
score of 100-88 in the eyes of all three judges before
turning his attention to future action in the ring.
“I feel like I’m up for Errol Spence Jr,” said Tszyu. “I
think that would be one hell of a fight. That’s a banger. I
don’t take a backward step. If he’s ready to meet me there,
bring it on. I’m coming to catch the big fish. Let’s go
fishing.”
In the co-main event, top super bantamweight contenders went
toe-to-toe as Australia’s Sam Goodman (22-1, 8 KOs) took
home a unanimous decision victory over Argentina’s Rodrigo
Ruiz (23-2, 17 KOs) in a 12-round IBF 122-pound title
eliminator.
A former world title challenger, the hometown favorite
Goodman was buoyed on by the crowd as he showed off his
versatile game against the rugged, come forward style of
Ruiz. Goodman was especially effective landing power shots,
connecting on over 51% while out landing Ruiz overall 225 to
157.
Ruiz found success with left hands, especially early in the
bout, but Goodman was able to adjust and stay out of danger,
while consistently working in pot shots with the right hand.
In the end, all three judges saw the bout in Goodman’s
favor, with scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 115-113.
Action also saw Rugby star turned heavyweight brawler Nelson
Asofa Solomona (2-0, 2 Kos) defeat Jarrod Wallace (0-1) by
third-round stoppage in their heavyweight slugfest. While
Wallace had some success landing right hands across the
first two rounds, Solomona found a home for a sharp right
hand in round three that sent Wallace down, before following
up with a second knockdown that ended the fight 1:03 into
the frame.
The lineup also included 2024 Australian Olympian Callum
Peters (6-0. 6 KOs) taking down the previously unbeaten
Delio Mouzinho (4-1, 4 KOs) in the second round of their
fast-paced middleweight clash.
Peters and Mouzinho wasted no time going toe-to-toe, with
Peters getting the best of the all-out brawl before
punctuating the round with a series of thudding shots that
put Mouzinho down. While his opponent was able to rise to
his feet, Peters went right back to work early in round two,
eventually connecting on a blistering straight right that
dropped Mouzinho again and forced the stoppage 57 seconds
into the round.
Opening the Prime Video card, rising Australian Olympian
Paulo Aokuso (10-0, 5 KOs) earned a first-round knockout
over Thai contender Kittipong Jian Hao Ho (13-2-1,12 KOs0
after his opponent appeared to injure his knee in the
opening seconds of the fight, before eventually being
stopped 2:20 into the round.
The undefeated light heavyweight Aokuso took advantage of
his injured opponent, eventually finding the opening to drop
him with just over a minute left in the round. The
28-year-old Aokuso followed up aggressively, quickly scoring
a second knockdown that led to the stoppage being called by
his opponent’s corner.
|
|
|
