‘How could he do that?!’ Nikita Tszyu rises from the dead in all-out war after ‘wake-up call’

Nikita Tszyu will enter the world rankings with the IBF and WBO after a 10th straight win to open his career.

The Australian stopped dangerous fighter Koen Mazoudier late in the ninth round on Wednesday night in Sydney, with Tszyu hoping his latest win will catapult him onto the global stage and eventually to American soil.

Tszyu looked exhausted after eight rounds before exploding and forcing the referee to intervene and end the all-out war.

“How did he do that?!” former world champion Shawn Porter exclaimed in the Main Event.

Michael Zerafa, who claimed a controversial TKO victory earlier in the night, appears next.

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A cautious opening round arguably favored Mazoudier, before Tszyu picked up well in the second and landed some hard punches in the closing stages.

Tszyu’s head movement looked much better, making it difficult for Mazoudier to get back into the fight.

Even harder punches came in the fourth round, with Tszyu landing 90 of his 184 power punches in the first quartet as he looked for the finish.

Mazoudier didn’t give up, landing a big right hand early in the fifth round, but looked hurt late in the sixth with blood pouring from his nose. He came back in the seventh as the pace slowed, though, with Tszyu’s defense becoming an issue as he looked shaky in the closing seconds.

With Mazoudier sensing the potential disappointment and anger flashing across Tszyu’s face, he decided all-out attack was the best form of defense, with big swings and no one using the clinch.

The ninth round proved decisive as a flurry of powerful punches — starting with a brutal straight left hand — suddenly left Mazoudier with no answer, and Tszyu won via stoppage.

Speaking after the fight, Tszyu described it as a “big wake-up call”, and admitted he had to work even harder as he looks to climb higher up the super-welterweight division.

“I had to fight for it. It wasn’t easy. It was annoying during the fight, but the feeling right now is indescribable,” he said after the fight.

“It was all what we expected. I have to take my hat off to Koen, he was absolutely solid. I was really, really impressed to be honest.

“I didn’t expect him to be that tough. I didn’t expect his fight to be that tough.”

Tszyu even added that there was a moment in the middle of the fight when he was “down” and his coach Igor Goloubev looked at him and asked if he should stop the fight.

“I was like, ‘No.’ I have to keep going and try hard,” Tszyu said.

“This is where strength comes from, to get through hard times.”

And what did he say that gave him the strength to get through those tough times?

“I kept telling myself, don’t be a bitch. Don’t be a loser!” Tszyu laughed.

‘GOING TO COURT’: ZERAFA’S BROTHER THROWING PUNCHES IN BROWNE MESS

Michael Zerafa’s fight with Tommy Browne quickly went awry as Browne withdrew from the fight after just one round due to a bicep injury.

Zerafa dominated the opening round as expected, and was declared the winner via TKO.

But things quickly escalated when Zerafa’s brother threw a punch at trainer Tommy Browne as he exchanged insults with the victorious fighter.

Zerafa shouted, “You stop!” and then promised, “I’m in first gear. Nikita, I’m going!”

On Main Event commentary, analyst Peter Badel called for Zerafa’s brother to be banned from the ring for life for the incident.

“I don’t think his brother should be involved in boxing anymore. It’s a shame,” Badel said.

Meanwhile, US boxing great Shawn Porter said he wanted the incident “brought to justice”.

“That’s unacceptable. If Michael knew his brother had the ability to do that… he shouldn’t have been on his side,” Porter said.

He was escorted from the location.

COMPLETE FIGHT CARD RESULTS

Main Card (starting at 7pm AEST on the Main Event)

Nikita Tszyu wins over Koen Mazoudier via ninth-round TKO — 10 rounds, WBO Intercontinental & IBF Australasian Super Welterweight titles

Michael Zerafa defeats Tommy Browne via TKO after one round (Browne withdrew due to injury) — 8 rounds, catchweight

Conor Wallace defeats Jerome Pampellone via split decision (116-112 x2, 113-115) — 12 rounds, light heavyweight

Dharringarra Trewhella lost. Calvin Jensen via unanimous decision (58-56 x3) — 6 rounds, welterweight

Billy Polkinghorn defeats Michael Reynolds via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45 x2) — 5 rounds, catchweight

Sonny Knight defeats Laban Stringer by split decision (39-37, 40-36, 37-39) – 4 rounds, catchweight

From 5.30pm AEST on Fox Sports and Kayo

Jasmine Parr lost to Pannaporn Kaewpawong via unanimous decision (60-54 x3) — 6 rounds, bantamweight

Mounir Fathi wins over Suitama Manuele via second-round TKO — 6 rounds, super welterweight

Mai Soliiman defeated Connie Brown via split decision (58-56, 59-55, 57-58) — 6 rounds, super flyweight

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BEER DRAMA IN WORLD TITLE ELIMINATION

Four members of Conor Wallace’s support crew were shockingly ejected from the ICC Theatre after plastic cups filled with beer were thrown into the corner of the stadium where rival Jerome Pampellone was sitting.

The drama erupted shortly after the fifth round of the light heavyweight world title eliminator between the two, which pits rising Australian boxing star Nikita Tszyu against each other.

Pampellone’s trainer Isaac Peach was climbing into the ring when a mug of beer was thrown from the crowd of green-clad fans for Wallace, an Irishman who lives in Brisbane.

The glass narrowly missed Peach and hit the corner rope.

Security officers quickly approached the group with three men and a woman being escorted away from the scene.

Several other security officers then remained with the group, sitting just behind Pampellone’s corner, as the fight continued.

Wallace won via split decision, 116-112 x2 and 113-115.

SCORECARD CONTROVERSY OPENS UP THE MAIN CARD

Sonny Knight has claimed a controversial split decision victory over Laban Stringer in the first fight of Wednesday’s main card after what Peter Badel described as an “embarrassing” scorecard.

Knight was the more skilled and technical fighter in the opening rounds, but looked tired going into the third round for the first time in his professional career, with Stringer outboxing him and putting relentless pressure on his opponent.

In the end, Stringer landed very quickly at the end of the fight and looked strong enough to win. However, the judges gave Knight the win by giving him a chance to win all four rounds.

“I think they got it wrong,” Badel said after the fight.

“I thought Stringer was the better fighter. I thought Knight got tired in the third round… I thought one of the judges’ decisions was embarrassing.

“I hope we don’t lose Stringer to boxing because that’s his third loss in a row… he was pretty beat up there and rightfully so. I don’t know how a judge can decide with four-zip.”

US boxing legend Shawn Porter agreed, saying Knight looked “very drained” at the end of the fight.

“That means the judge read the cards and assumed Sonny was going to win this fight and was the judge for every round, when clearly there were two or three rounds where Sonny was losing,” Porter said.