The Phoenix has risen.
With a new name and new chapter in his career, Tim Tszyu has handed the previously unbeaten Anthony Velazquez his first loss with a dominant unanimous decision victory on Wednesday night.
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In his hometown and against an opponent he was expected to beat, expectations were high for Tszyu in his hyped comeback fight and the Australian well and truly lived up to them in what Main Event commentator Ben Damon called a “violent clinic” that left Velazquez bloodied and “broken”.
“I’ve got the belts in my mindsight, but one step at a time,” Tszyu said after the fight.
“It’s a long ride. You never know where we can go.
“I’m back. I’m f***ing back.”
It looked like Tszyu was on the verge of finishing Velazquez on multiple occasions but the Australian revealed he had intentionally been a bit more conservative in his approach.
“I really just wanted to feel comfortable in there,” Tszyu said.
“I wanted to get in the ring, not try go for the KO and get reckless. In the past, that’s what actually came wrong by me. I wanted to take my time, use my jab. I have all the skills in the world, I just need to apply them.
“I had a game opponent today and a scorecard of 10 rounds, I’m pretty happy with that. He came out swinging to the very end. He’s got pop so I didn’t want to come in and cop one.”
Tszyu set the tone early in Wednesday’s fight and the Australian was clearly the aggressor, working behind his jab and firing out bigger shots when the opportunities presented themselves.
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Velazquez, on the other hand, looked far more timid and defensive, looking as if he was waiting for a moment where Tszyu would slip up and get too aggressive to leave his mark on the fight.
Tszyu, however, was calculated and picking his moments. It was a sign of growth from the Australian, who was previously accused of having “arrogant” body language by Shawn Porter during the loss to Bakhram Murtazaliev last year that sent his world title dreams spiraling out of control.
This time around, Tsyzu was very much a man in control as he pressed forward and started to land in a big way in the third round, mixing in some nice ripping shots to the body on the inside while forcing Velazquez to cover up in the third round.
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By the end of that round, Damon was left questioning whether Velazquez’s relative inactivity was a deliberate tactic or if he was simply a “deer in the headlights”.
To fellow Australian boxing star Liam Paro, who was in commentary alongside Damon for Wednesday’s fight, the answer to that question was obvious.
“He might have underestimated Tim Tszyu,” Paro said.
Velazquez was doing his best to cover up in the fourth round too but struggled to really let his hands go under relentless pressure from Tszyu, with the American’s best moment coming in the form of a nice, clean shot to the body.
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Otherwise, it was all Tszyu as an uppercut and big left hook put an exclamation mark on another dominant round from the Australian, who continued to work his way towards a finish.
There was a noticeable change from Velazquez early in the fifth round, with the American looking far more aggressive as he looked to turn the tables on Tszyu after letting the Australian dictate terms in the fight up until that point.
It was a short-lived shift in the fight, however, as Tszyu landed a nice combination with Velazquez up against the ropes and then started the sixth round with a big right hand to again re-establish his dominance.
While it had been a one-sided fight up until that point, you got the sense Tszyu wanted the finish to really cap off such a highly-anticipated return to the ring for the former world champion.
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But a valiant Velazquez took it to Tszyu right until the very end and while he was on the wrong end of the scorecards, the American didn’t lose any admirers for his effort.
As for Tszyu, the win is exactly what he needed as he eyes a return to the global boxing stage, having insisted he is still capable of pushing for a second world title shot with the likes of Vergil Ortiz Jnr and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis on his radar.
But in the short-term at least, American Tony Harrison has been floated as a potential name for Tszyu to face next in what would be a rematch after the pair previously fought in 2023.
Tszyu won that fight via technical knockout to claim the interim WBO super welterweight title and if the Australian was to repeat his effort from that night and secure consecutive wins, a big fight stateside could soon follow.
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Either way, Tszyu is looking to quickly capitalise on the momentum from Wednesday’s win with his new manager Darcy Ellis confirming earlier in the week he could fight “as soon as the first quarter of next year”.
Earlier, fellow Australian Sam Goodman – who himself was on the brink of shocking the world earlier this year only to be controversially denied against WNBA featherweight king Nick Ball – was clinical as he outpointed Tyler Blizzard by unanimous decision in the co-main event.
The main card kicked off with Paulo Aokuso re-announcing himself to the Australian boxing world with a dominant unanimous decision victory against Shukhrat Abdullaev before Koen Mazoudier overcame a questionable scorecard from one of the judges to overcome Dominic Molinaro by split decision.
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Later, one of Australia’s most hyped prospects Callum Peters – who suffered an upset loss at the World Box Championships in September – scored a sixth-round stoppage win over Cody Beekin.
Peters poured on the shots and started to land in a big way in the third round, first with a left hook and then a right hand as Beekin went down twice only to get up both times.
To his credit, Beekin kept throwing and was somehow able to make it to the bell, but eventually in the sixth round the fight was stopped.
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