BAKHRAM MURTAZALIEV may not have been well known before Saturday night, but the reigning IBF super-welterweight champion announced himself to the Stateside audience in spectacular fashion. Tim Tszyu took some heavy shots early on, barely knew what time of day it was and never recovered.
With a Russian and an Australian fighting in Orlando, something explosive was needed to capture the wider attention. Step forward Murtazaliev and his punching power, mixed with Tszyu’s reckless bravery and the required warfare was delivered.
Tszyu spent portions of the first round dabbling at a cut that wasn’t there. The same laceration inflicted by Sebastian Fundora had clearly left mental scars as well as physical. Known as a fast starter, Murtazaliev had recorded first-round knockouts in the past as well as a swift knockdown of Jack Culcay in his title-winning effort.
Warning extended, Tszyu decided to stand inside and bang away regardless. Escaping round one with only danger signs in the form of lashing hooks, round two marked the devastating beginning of a premature end.
As two-fisted flurries flooded through his leaky defence, the more that landed, the looser Tszyu became. In fact, the more he took, the tougher and more macho he became. Tim fights much like his esteemed father, Kostya, only without the same crunching power.
More terrier than tactician, at the times he needed to hug, hold and reset, Tim instead opted to stand and trade, offering his face as a target. Like a ruthlessly adept bowman, Bakhram Murtazaliev peppered the bullseye repeatedly, prompting the towel to fly in and save a fighter who simply could not avoid the left hook.
Things move fast in boxing. At one point, Tszyu was being groomed for a crack at either Terence Crawford, or, at the very least, Errol Spence Jr. From the split second Sebastian Fundora’s errant elbow split open his forehead, to the final wave of referee Christopher Young’s arms last night in Florida, all of a sudden the 29-year-old’s career at the top level is sliding along skid row.
As for Murtazaliev, he’s on an entirely different trajectory. Vergil Ortiz Jr holds the WBC Interim title. That would be a fun fight. Terence Crawford will look at the IBF champion and fancy a shot if it brings home another belt and the chance to unify another division.
In the meantime, Erickson Lubin, who is highly ranked and due a shot at the title, would be a solid contender to face off against. He is also a PBC fighter, which should make things easier to navigate.
