Nikita Tszyu restored some family pride in Australia when he scored a rapid victory over the woefully overmatched Lulzim Ismaili when the Macedonian refused to come out for the second round.
It has been a tricky period for Nikita and his brother, Tim Tszyu, as the latter saw his form plummet and the former was left on the sidelines for 12 months due to injury, specifically to his left hand.
Tszyu wasted no time in checking if the reconstructive surgery he’d undergone had been a success. A looping left clattered into the ribs of Ismaili before another upstairs scored a knockdown in the first round. According to professional boxing news, a subsequent attack, again finished with a left, caused his foe to turn his head in a futile effort to find shelter from the storm he found himself in.
Lulzim, 12-1 (7 KOs), managed to get to the bell but his body language said it all. Shaking his head, it was soon clear that fans inside the ICC Sydney Theatre had witnessed the last of the night’s action.
“We copped a lot of punishment due to my brother’s recent fights but we are a family,” said Nikita about the criticism his family has endured.
As for the fight, such as it was, he said: “It was alright, but I didn’t get to show much. It was only one round. I found the opening, he was hesitant, and when I landed that first left hand he was struggling.
“I wanted it to go longer, I didn’t want rush things.”
In the end, he had little choice.
Michael Zerafa has had plenty to say about the Tszyu brothers in the past and the fiery middleweight contender ensured his name remained in the hat to face Nikita when he claimed a dramatic opening round stoppage of overmatched American Mikey Dahlman on this No Limits Boxing show.
Zerafa, 34-5 (22 KOs), started fast and hurt Dahlman with two booming right hands in the first minute. Eager to finish matters, Zerafa rushed in and was caught by an instinctive poking left. Zerafa, unhurt, slipped to the canvas and was furious upon being counted.
The favorite tore after his opponent, eager to set the record straight. Dahlman, 18-2 (16 KOs), was clearly still struggling from the early assault he’d endured and, as Zerafa ripped in violent blows to the head, the underdog teetered backwards into the corner. The referee wisely stepped in at 2:21.
Zerafa, while being booed by the Sydney crowd, refused to stoke any rivalry with Nikita in the aftermath, however.
“Come out here and get the win, Nikita. If I end up fighting him, then the hostilities can start, but for now we should all support him.”
Brock Jarvis, who was outclassed by Keith Thurman in March, is another potential opponent for Tszyu and he showed new patience before dramatically stopping Sam Beck in the fourth round.
With Australian legend Jeff Fenech watching on from his corner, the muscled Jarvis, fighting at middleweight for the first time, immediately found the length and size of Beck tricky to negotiate but seemed to content to try to box from distance in the early going.
There were signs in the second that Jarvis, known for his spiteful body punching, was breaking through as he scored with a left hook and raided with purpose.
Beck, 7-1 (4 KOs), continued to stalk and, for a time in the third, was bossing proceedings. Things changed again in the fourth, however. In close, Jarvis cranked his opponent’s head sideways with a right hand before another right was rapidly trailed by a zipping left hook that sent Beck tumbling. He got to his feet, but the referee had seen enough.
“I’ve been working hard with Jeff to change a few things,” Jarvis said about his more measured approach. “It feels unreal to be back.”
Also on the bill was local prospect Ahmed Reda, 7-0 (5 KOs), who stepped up to 10-round level for the first time against the more experienced Tanzanian Bruno Tarimo and impressively claimed the vacant Australian junior welterweight title. The high-paced contest went the distance before the judges turned in scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 in Reda’s favor.
Tarimo, 29-5-2 (8 KOs) and representing a huge step-up for 22-year-old Reda, started in typically tenacious fashion but Reda, a smart and tidy boxer whose curly mullet occasionally obscures his own view, was in control by the fourth round. What followed was a mature display as he contained the aggression of his opponent with smart counter punching in the pocket.
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