“This was a beautiful disaster of a fight,” CBS Sports’ Brian Campbell wrote as Tim Tszyu lost his WBO world title to Sebastian Fundora.
US media were in awe of Tim Tszyu’s toughness and bravery in fighting through a nasty gash on his head from an accidental elbow late in the second round – though a legendary boxing commentator has now claimed it was a deliberate act of foul play from Fundora.
There was plenty of praise for Fundora, too, who won Tszyu’s WBO belt as well as the vacant WBC crown after taking the fight on just 12 days’ notice – and with plenty of blood pouring from his face, too.
Here’s how boxing experts Stateside saw the fight.
‘I’m not a winner’ Gutted Tszyu on loss | 03:52
THE BLOOD
Brian Campbell for CBS Sports called it “one of the bloodiest title fights in recent memory” and labelled it “a horror scene”.
Mike Coppinger for ESPN similarly termed it: “one of the bloodiest fights in recent memory”.
He added: “Fundora also faced serious adversity. His nose bled profusely from the opening round onward, and his mouth was pouring blood as well. It made for a scene out of a horror flick, with both fighters’ faces crimson masks.”
Michael Rosenthal wrote for Boxing Junkie it was: “a horribly bloody fight”.
Kevin Iole wrote: “Tszyu’s face looked like it had a lawnmower run over it afterward, though.
“Despite that, Tszyu never stopped attacking and looking for a way to win.”
Lance Pugmire wrote for Boxing Scene: “It was like a horror movie. Sickening. Yet, it kept drawing all the eyes in attendance back to watch.”
He added: “Almost lost in the fixation on Tszyu’s ghastly blood spill was the fact Fundora’s nose was broken by a first-round Tszyu punch. His bleeding was also unsightly, creating a scene they wouldn’t even dare to duplicate in a Hollywood boxing film.”
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TSZYU’S HOT START
Tim Tszyu dominated the opening two rounds, controlling the range well and landing right crosses time and again.
Iole wrote: “Fundora was nearly overwhelmed in the first two rounds, as Tszyu came out aggressively and was raking him with blistering hard shots.”
Rosenthal wrote: “The Aussie got off to a strong start, working his way past his 6-foot-5½ opponent’s long jab to land several eye-catching punches that seemed to portend a strong performance from the champion.”
Campbell wrote during the second round in his live blog: “Fundora looks scared and stiff.”
Campbell added later: “He (Tszyu) was also lighting his giant, southpaw opponent up with hard right hands in Round 2 until the errant elbow from Fundora badly cut him on the hairline.
“The entire tenor of the fight changed from there despite Fundora, whose nose began gushing in the same round, equalling his opponent’s crimson mask covering his entire face.”
Coppinger wrote: “And Tszyu appeared in control against Fundora until the cut. He landed some powerful shots down the stretch, but Fundora’s active jab won the fight.”
He added: “[Fundora] entered the ring a decided underdog and lost the first two rounds on all three cards.”
The rogue elbow that changed the fight | 01:13
THE MOMENT
Tszyu had the upper hand in the first two rounds. Then “everything changed in an instant,” as Rosenthal wrote.
As Kevin Iole wrote: “But seconds before the second round ended, Tszyu moved forward with his head down and literally ran into Fundora’s elbow. Fundora did not move it in Tszyu’s direction, but it opened a brutal cut.
“And what looked like it could be a dominant KO win for Tszyu suddenly had a dramatically different look.”
Mike Coppinger wrote for ESPN: “Given the nine-inch height difference, such an accident was more likely than usual.”
Pugmire wrote: “Tszyu’s wound streamed so heavily, straight down into his eyes, and if he wouldn’t have been so stubborn, the referee or ringside doctor would have stopped the fight before the fourth round ended – making the bout a no-contest that would’ve allowed him to retain his belt and fight another day as an unbeaten.”
He added: “But Tszyu’s added toughness led him to deceive referee Harvey Dock and the doctor who asked him if he could see. In the ring, he promised he could. So the fight continued.”
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But legendary former boxing commentator Jim Lampley, inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame for his three-decades as a blow-by-blow HBO caller of fights – believes the elbow was in fact a deliberate foul move from Fundora.
“That’s not fair. Life is not fair. That was unfair competition because one guy fouled the other with an elbow on the top of the head and cut him open in such a way that the blood flow was not going to be stopped,” Lampley told Fighthype in T-Mobile Arena after the bout.
“If the outcome is not altered by the cut, I don’t think Fundora is every in the position to win the rounds the way he did because Tszyu would have tactical command and mastery. He’s a better boxer,” he continued.
He added: “It was right there on top of the skull where all the blood flow comes … Tim got hit by an elbow on top of the head. That is not a boxing move.”
Had the elbow been deemed deliberate, Fundora could have been disqualified and Tszyu appointed the winner, while the referee may also have deducted a point or called for a no-contest.
Errol Spence Jr. CALLS OUT Fundora | 02:55
THE GUTSY EFFORT
The elbow was deemed accidental, which seems a correct decision, and the pair showed immense toughness to fight the full 12 rounds.
Kevin Iole wrote: “The unification bout for the super welterweight title on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena between Sebastian Fundora and Tim Tszyu was about nothing more than resilience.
“Both fighters showed incredible resilience, self-belief and refused to give in against significant odds.”
Campbell wrote: “The two fighters showed tremendous heart and resilience as the fight somehow went the distance despite numerous stoppages for the ringside doctor to check Tszyu, whose vision was badly compromised over the final 10 rounds.”
The cutmen in both corners tried their hardest to stem the bleeding, with Campbell writing ahead of the 10th round: “Tszyu comes out with an extreme amount of vaseline on his forehead around his cut, which leaks non-stop.”
He added: “It’s incredible that this fight is still going because of how much blood has been spilled.”
Iole wrote: “This fight was an example of two men who did things the right way, and they rewarded the crowd and those who purchased the pay-per-view with a competitive and fun fight … It’s anyone’s guess what may happen [next], but both men made themselves proud with their efforts Saturday.”
Tszyu vs. Fundora: Full Fight Highlights | 14:29
PRAISE FOR TSZYU
Former commentator Jim Lampley was in the booth when Tszyu’s father Kostya suffered his first-ever defeat, losing the IBF light-welterweight title in a stunning 10th-round knockout to Vince Phillips in 1997.
Kostya would go on to win the WBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring light-welterweight belts, before just his second-ever loss, to Ricky Hatton in 2005, ended his career with a 31-2 record (1NC). Lampley believes Tim Tszyu will be able to recover from defeat, just like his father did.
Lampley said: “There was nothing different about Kostya after the loss to Vince Phillips other than that he had a loss on his record. I don’t think there’ll be anything different about Tim Tszyu after tonight other than that he has a loss on his record.
“Tonight, he’s just like his dad – except that his dad got hit by a clean, perfect, legitimate shot. Tim Tszyu got hit with an elbow on top of his head.”
Rosenthal wrote: “The determination Tszyu demonstrated in the fight certainly will carry over as he moves forward.
“He can legitimately say that bad luck played as significant a role as Fundora did in his fate, which should take some of the sting out of his disappointment. He’ll let the cut heal, get back into the gym and then pursue what he believes is his destiny: a special place in boxing history.”
Kevin Iole wrote: “Just taking the fight, he went from a veteran 5-8 right-handed to a 6-6, young southpaw. He’s done that repeatedly in his career, which shows the character of the man. He believes in himself and in his ability to defeat anyone in his weight class and simply doesn’t get bothered by things like opponent changes.
“He went out and fought like a champion, made no excuses afterward and accepted his bad luck with grace and class.”
‘No excuse’ Gutted Tim all class in loss | 01:31
FUNDORA’S BIG CHANGE PAYS OFF
For Fundora, taking the fight on 12 days’ notice, after a knockout loss in his last fight, the victory was a monumental achievement.
But most impressive was his change in style – instead of phonebox brawling which has turned him into a fan favourite, but cost him a knockout defeat last year, this time he boxed smart by using his reach advantage to jab Tszyu time after time.
Rosenthal wrote: “The victory seemed particularly unlikely given that he had to contend with his own bloody nose and mouth, he was coming off a knockout loss to Brian Mendoza and he took the fight less than two weeks ago, when Keith Thurman pulled out with a biceps injury.
Nevertheless, after taking Tszyu’s WBO belt and the vacant WBC title, he’s a world champion.”
Iole wrote: “So Fundora willingly stepped into the main event, believed in his chance to win even when oddsmakers made him a 7-1 underdog and then went out Saturday and proved all the sceptics wrong.”
Brutal judges decision finishes Tszyu | 01:25
Campbell wrote: “The fight also showcased a dramatic shifting in strategy from Fundora, a fan-favourite brawler who usually punts on his size advantages in favour of phonebooth fighting. It’s a style that cost him in his last outing in April of last year, when he was ahead on the scorecards late before being knocked out by Mendoza, who went on to lose a decision to Tszyu six months later.”
He added: “How different was Fundora’s strategy in this fight? He landed eight jabs per round after landing just three per round in his previous five fights.”
Coppinger wrote: “Fundora executed a disciplined game plan and used his long southpaw jab to pepper Tszyu from range. He was never dragged into a firefight, unlike in past fights, particularly Fundora’s 2022 TKO win over Erickson Lubin, in which he was floored, and in his loss to Mendoza, when he was up wide on the cards before being stopped.”
BLOOD BATH MADNESS! Fight turns crazy | 01:48