Nikita Tszyu shows growth in late stoppage of Koen Mazoudier in Sydney

Junior middleweight prospect Nikita ‘The Butcher’ Tszyu (10-0, 8 KOs) scored a career-best win when he stopped Koen Mazoudier (12-4-1, 5 KOs) in the ninth-round of their scheduled 10-round contest at the ICC Sydney Theatre in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday night.

Mazoudier, 28, had his moments early on, but he really came on in the middle rounds of the bout. In the sixth round of their fight he got under Tszyu’s skin and the pair traded for the second half of the stanza. It was a moment of ill-discipline from Tszyu. Both boxers returned to their corners leaking claret from the nose.

The bout turned into a firefight in the seventh round. Mazoudier was able to drag Tszyu into a brawl in the second half of the heat. A big right hand shortly before the bell from Mazoudier buoyed the underdog with confidence and he continued his aggressive attack in the eighth.

Tszyu went with him. The pair traded in the pocket in center ring for the final minute of the round.

Nikita Tszyu – Photo courtesy of No Limit Boxing

Tszyu went back to sniper mode in the ninth. He worked Mazoudier’s body with the left but left himself open to the right hand over the top. Midway through the round, a left cross from Tszyu hurt Mazoudier and he went on with the job, emptying his tank as he threw punches with both hands to force referee Chris Condon to step in and stop the contest at the 1:05 mark of the penultimate round.

It was a coming-of-age fight for the 26-year-old Sydney southpaw, who has previously been criticized for wading forward and dropping bombs in an effort to entertain fans.

This time around, he made an excellent impression of his Hall of Fame father, Kostya Tszyu.

He stood his ground. He owned center ring. He didn’t get greedy. He landed very hard counterpunches to the body and head. Until the halfway point of the fight at least.

It was far from a perfect performance from Tszyu, but his improvements were obvious.

“I had to work for that. That was not easy. The feeling right now is indescribable,” said Tszyu. “He was everything we expected. Koen, I tip my hat to him. He’s one tough bastard. I was honestly very, very impressed. I didn’t expect him to be that hard. I didn’t expect the fight to be that hard.”

When asked about those tough moments in the middle of the bout, Tszyu gave an insight into his mindset.

“I said to myself, don’t be a bitch. Don’t be a pussy. Keep fighting!” he said.

Promoter George Rose of No Limit Boxing flagged a potential showdown with domestic rival Michael Zerafa.

“Let’s do it. He had plenty to say leading up to this,” said Rose.

There were farcical scenes in the main support bout when Michael Zerafa (32-5, 19 KOs) was awarded the victory over veteran Tommy Browne (45-9-2, 19 KOs).

Zerafa, 32, got out of the gates early against the 41-year-old Browne, attempting to test his reflexes and stamina. At the end of the opening round, he landed an overhand right to Browne’s jaw in their eight-round, 157-pound catchweight bout. Browne, whose best days were two decades ago at featherweight, returned to his corner with a suspected torn left bicep that he likely carried into the fight.

Trainer Tommy Mercuri called the fight with Browne sitting on his stool. Zerafa crossed the ring to have words with Browne’s coach, calling his fighter a quitter. Mercuri walked Zerafa back out to center ring, giving him a verbal spray. That was when Zerafa’s brother and cornerman stepped around from the side and threw a wild right hand at Mercuri’s chin.

It was an unedifying spectacle at best.

American former world titleholder Shawn Porter, who was calling the fight live from ringside, offered a scathing assessment of what happened in the ring post-fight.

“That’s unacceptable. If Michael knows his brother has the ability to do that… he shouldn’t be in his corner,” Porter said.

Zerafa’s brother was escorted from ringside.

In an IBF light heavyweight title eliminator, Conor Wallace (14-1, 10 KOs) edged Jerome Pampellone (18-2, 11 KOs) via split decision in a 12-round bout.

True to form, England-born New Zealander Pampellone, 28, came with the pressure. He pushed Wallace back, winging big right hands over the top in the early rounds. Some missed, some landed. He had some initial success bulling Wallace to the ropes, but the 28-year-old Irish southpaw, who boxes out of Brisbane, Australia, weathered the storm and found a home for his own left cross behind a crafty lead-hand feint.

By the midway point of the bout the fight looked close and through 10 frames, the fight appeared to hang in the balance. But the clever footwork and smart shot selection of Wallace saw him pull away in the championship rounds, with judges Adam Height and Chris Condon both scoring the fight 116-112 for the winner, while judge Carl Zappia saw Pampellone the winner 115-113.

“This means everything to me, we stuck to the game plan. I barely got touched,” said Wallace in the ring after the bout. “I’m only getting started. I’m only a baby.”

Wallace now finds himself in position to challenge the winner of the vacant Ring championsip clash between Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) and Dmitry Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 12.