by Keith Idec
Bakhram Murtazaliev made a boxing world full of detractors respect him Saturday night.
The unbeaten Russian entered the ring as the defending IBF junior middleweight champion, but Tim Tszyu was listed by numerous sportsbooks as a whopping 7-1 favorite over him. The taller, stronger, determined Murtazaliev dropped Tszyu three times in the second round and once more in the third round to stun Tszyu, most fans inside Caribe Royale Resort, including Kostya Tszyu, Tim’s legendary father, and surely countless viewers of their Premier Boxing Champions main event on Amazon’s Prime Video platform.
Referee Christopher Young stopped their scheduled 12-rounder at 1:55 of the third round after Tszyu’s trainer, Igor Goloubev, threw in the towel.
Murtazaliev, of Glendale, California, improved to 23-0 and produced his 17th knockout. Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs), of Sydney, Australia, lost a second straight bout, but the former WBO junior middleweight champ suffered his first knockout defeat as a pro.
Tszyu lost his previous bout as well, but by split decision to Sebastian Fundora on March 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Tszyu sustained a nasty cut on the top of his head late in the second round when his head grazed Fundora’s elbow, which turned their 12-rounder into a bloodbath.
There was no discrepancy as to the rightful winner Saturday night.
Murtazaliev mostly was known prior to annihilating Tszyu for taking step-aside fees four times to allow former IBF junior middleweight champ Jermell Charlo to participate in 154-pound title unification fights. Murtazaliev made his first title defense Saturday night, six months after he knocked out Ecuador’s Jack Culcay (33-5, 14 KOs) in the 11th round April 6 at Stadthalle in Falkensee, Germany, just outside of Berlin.
Murtazaliev, who won an IBF belt Charlo gave up, didn’t need nearly as much time to knock out Tszyu.
After going down three times in the second round, Murtazaliev blasted Tszyu with another vicious left hook that dropped him with just under 1:25 on the clock in the third round. The courageous Tszyu got up yet again and tried to fight out the deepest trouble of his career, only to have Murtazaliev hammer him with right hands that made Goloubev throw in the towel.
A clean left hook dropped a stunned Tszyu to the seat of his trunks 40 seconds into the second round. That shot surprised Tszyu, who went down for the third time in his 26-bout professional career.
Another left hook by Murtazaliev sent Tszyu flat on his back with just under 1:25 on the clock in the second round, which marked the first time Tszyu was dropped twice in the same fight. Tszyu tried to do what he does best – fight out of that dire situation.
Tszyu landed right hands that made Murtazaliev back up, but he never got his legs under him and Murtazaliev made him pay. Another right hand toward the end of the second round sent Tszyu to the canvas for the third time.
Young allowed Tszyu to continue, presumably because there wasn’t much time left in that second round.
A flush left hook by Tszyu made Murtazaliev reset his feet with over a minute to go in the first round. Murtazaliev had success of his own in the opening round, when he landed a clean right hand just before the midway mark and another one in its final minute.
