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In his first title defense, the undefeated IBF junior-middleweight world champion Bakhram Murtazaliev placed the division on notice on Saturday night when he stopped the challenger, former WBO champion Tim Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs) in the 3rd round.
Coming into the October 19th clash, Bakhram Murtazaliev was a newly crowned champion who has spent the first 22 fights of his pro career operating under the radar. His opponent Tim Tszyu is a well-known boxer in the sport, and coming into the bout, Tszyu was a 4-1 betting favorite.
At the start of the first round, Murtazaliev was active with the jab. In the second half of the opening round, Tim Tszyu and Bakhram Murtazaliev exchanged solid power shots. Tszyu had success landing the right hand while Murtazaliev was able to connect with the right hand and the left hook.
Early on in round 2, the champion Bakhram Murtazaliev connected with the one-two combination, and immediately followed it up by landing a big right hand. The challenger Tim Tszyu responded by pressing forward and landing a hard right hand shot.
Seconds later, Murtazaliev landed a left hook that sent Tszyu down to the canvas. Tszyu was able to get up, but he went down for a second time when Murtazaliev connected with another strong left hand shot.
Standing on wobbly legs, Tim Tszyu stood in the pocket and exchanged power shots with the defending IBF champion. During the course of trading power shots, Tszyu was visibly hurt once again when Murtazaliev landed a double left hook.
An unbalanced Tim Tszyu tried to hold, but Murtazaliev avoided the clinch by landing hard rights and lefts. In the closing seconds of the second round, Murtazaliev landed a big right followed by a left hook. Murtazaliev would go on to post his third knockdown of the round when he landed an overhand right.
A game Tim Tszyu was prepared to go out for the third round, but the doctor came in the ring to examine Tszyu. After examining Tszyu, the doctor allowed the fight to continue. Tszyu came out and attempted to tighten his high guard, but Murtazaliev landed shots around the guard.
Murtazaliev’s left hook was money all night long, as he dropped Tszyu for a fourth time after connecting with a counter left hook. Once again Tszyu was able to get up and continue, but after getting caught with consecutive right hand shots, Tszyu’s corner threw in the towel to officially stop the fight.
Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) accomplished his goal of making a statement at the expense of one of the most recognizable boxers in the weight class. Immediately after posting the biggest victory of his career, Murtazaliev seems to be ready to capitalize on his success.
Prior to his bout with Tim Tszyu, some people labeled Murtazaliev as the weakest champion at 154. Bakhram Murtazaliev plans on testing that theory as he expressed his desire to unify the titles by facing WBA champion Terence “Bud” Crawford, or WBO/WBC champion Sebastian Fundora.
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