Bakhram Murtazaliev - Tim Tszyu summary online, round by round, stats and highlights
Murtazaliev vindicated with decisive TKO
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Bakhram Murtazaliev merciless as Tszyu is dismantled
Bakhram Murtazaliev showed no mercy tonight, and Tim Tszyu felt every ounce of it. In a short but brutal bout at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida, Murtazaliev delivered a devastating third-round TKO, dropping Tszyu four times before the Australian’s corner threw in the towel.
Murtazaliev’s power was clear in the second round when he landed a massive left hook to Tszyu’s head, sending him to the canvas for the first time. Tszyu got up quickly, not to regain his composure, but to charge right back at Murtazaliev. It was a decision that cost him dearly. Instead of trying to survive, Tszyu walked right onto another left hook and went down again.
In the final seconds of the second round, Murtazaliev put Tszyu on the mat for the third time. Tszyu managed to get back to his feet, but he was in bad shape, staggering just as the round ends. The bell saved him but just for the moment.
The third round began with the referee waving the ringside doctor over to check on Tszyu. The crowd was restless, booing the delay, but Tszyu pressed on, against his corner’s advice. That’s when Murtazaliev delivered yet another thunderous left hook, the fourth knockdown of the night. Tszyu got up again, showing grit, but it was clear his body can’t cash the checks his heart is writing.
Sensing the end, Murtazaliev moved in for the finish, landing a few more heavy blows on an unsteady Tszyu. His corner, seeing enough, throws in the towel, a mercy move that saves Tszyu from more punishment.
After the fight, Tszyu was quiet. “The better man won tonight. No excuses. I tried my best,” he says. “Boxing is not meant to be perfect.” Tszyu admits that after the first knockdown, things unraveled quickly. “He’s the man at 154. He’s the champ.”
This marks Tszyu’s second consecutive loss, and it’s a hard blow to his career. Rebounding from this one will be an uphill battle. Murtazaliev, meanwhile, proves once again why he’s a force in the junior middleweight division, a champion whose power is as terrifying as his record suggests.
AND STILL: Bakhram Murtazaliev wins by TKO
What was supposed to be the return of Tim Tszyu has ended as the vindication of Bakhram Murtazaliev, who has shown that he truly belongs at this level. What a fight!
The doctor has called in at the beginning of round three to take a look at Tszyu before it was decided that the fight can indeed continue.
Both men are pounding away and covering up to try to defend and box clever is just not in Tim Tszyu’s vocabulary. He knows only one way to continue and that is straightforward.
As he pounds forward yet again the champ delivers that same left hook that drops you onto his backside! He beats the eight count but is warned by the referee that that is the last time he will allow him to be knocked down and still continue the fight.
As the fight continues Murtazaliev jump straight on to Tszyu and the Australian is all over the place his legs are gone he is wobbled badly and his corner throws in the towel!
That's it! Murtazaliev remains undefeated and he has now taken a huge scalp in Tim Tszyu.
Both men come out and as the round gets started and the champ lands a huge right hand right on the button!
They continue to trade and the monstrous right hand drops Tszyu! That's only the third time in his career that he's been down! He beats the count but he's in all kinds of trouble here!
There's a lot of time left in this round and they are both throwing huge hammer blows! Tszyu is trying to level this with a huge right hand and a left hook in response drops him for the second time! This is disastrous for Tim Tszyu!
The unbeaten Murtazaliev is a beast and Tszyu is wobbling. Rather than cover up Tszyu is just trying to pound his way out of trouble and his legs are very shaky. He lands a beautiful right uppercut and slows the assault of the champion. They are both flailing and Tszyu’s legs are flailing! He's dropped right at the end of the round. It is only his pedigree as a former champion that convinces the referee to allow this round to continue after three knockdowns.
Both fighters come out working from the orthodox as Murtazaliev is a little more active from the opening bell.
Tszyu is already cut with blood coming from the top of his head, that brutal slash after his controversial loss in his last fight perhaps not yet completely healed.
Champion Tim Tszyu is already beginning to walk Murtazaliev down with both fighters loading up on their shots.
The champ is under pressure as the round ends.
Tim Tszyu vs. Bakhram Murtazaliev [IBF super welterweight title]
And now the main event as Tim Tszyu challenges the undefeated champion Bakhram Murtazaliev for the IBF super welterweight title.
Yoenis Tellaz wins by TKO
That was a perfect gameplan by Yoenis Tellaz as he said prior to the fight that Johan Gonzalez fades later in the fight and he exploited that perfectly.
Gonzalez needs to do something to get back into this fight because this is all one way traffic. Does he have a Plan B or a plan C? So far he's been very predictable.
Tellez has a very obvious game plan, which is to simply fill the room with uppercuts and then slam the door shut.
Gonzalez jabs forward and another uppercut from Tellez shakes Gonzalez to his core! He stumbles backwards and falls to the canvas! That is the second knockdown!
Tellez is now back in looking to finish him off and he sends him to the mat once again as the referee steps in to wave it off! What a perfect performance!
Gonzalez comes out tapping away with that jab and a big right hand lands very nicely but Tellez has a high guard that catches most of this.
Tellez lands a huge right hand and Gonzalez stumbles backwards. A nice left from Tellez lands on the liver of Gonzalez. The more creative the more unpredictable of the fighters has been Tellez and he now lands a huge right hand! And Gonzalez is down! He beats the count.
Tellez comes back in with a humongous right uppercut, looking for the knockout as the round ends.
Gonzalez comes out and lets his hands fly a little more freely. He needs to stop the tide here a little bit as the momentum shifts towards his opponent.
A big right hand from Gonzalez lands nicely but Tellez wears it. Tellez comes back and he loads up with that right hand of his own. Gonzalez is relying on his work rate but he really needs to let that left hook fly. He needs to be a little bit more creative and unpredictable with his shots. Tellez is not really responding to his assault and Gonzalez has to do something more than what he's doing here.
A big right hand from Tellez lands flush just as the round ends. That may have been enough to win the round for him.
Tellez now switches back to the orthodox stance to start the round and comes out with a three punch combo. It's that same one-two followed by the left uppercut.
Gonzalez comes back and throws some good shots but gets caught as Tellez works the body very nicely.
The early rounds seemed to have been led by Gonzalez, but Tellez is now really coming into his own. He's landing very nice shots to the body and catching Gonzalez with that uppercut almost that will.
A huge right hand from Tellez gets Gonzalez’s attention. This fight is now turning a corner as Tellez grows in confidence. He loads up with a big right hand and just misses Gonzalez.
Both fighters are still working from the orthodox stance and Tellez has to be wary of Gonzalez outworking him.
Tellez now lands a left hook that shakes Gonzalez. He follows it up with an overhand right and the crowd is really into this fight!
At the halfway point tellers switches to the southpaw stance. Gonzalez is still out working him, but these shots by Tellez are really starting to land nicely.
A quick one-two followed by a left uppercut by Tellez at the end of the round.
Between rounds Tellez’s corner tells him to work orthodox this round, so that stance switch is part of a strategy.
As the round starts he is listening to them working on the right side. Both fighters are now flicking that jab out trying to stay compact and not overreach.
Gonzalez catches Tellez dipping and follows up his jab with a nice three punch combo. At the moment he is out working Tellez.
Gonzalez is working very well, landing double and triple jabs. They're starting to have an effect as Tellez’s left eye is showing signs of a cut.
Tellez comes out in the southpaw stance with Gonzalez working from the right. Both fighters are quick to get off mark and snapping those jabs out. Gonzalez is not hesitant and follows his jab with two and even three shots, well Tellez is a little more thoughtful.
Gonzalez gets a little too greedy and Tellez reaches that right hook around the guard.
In the final minute Tellez switches to the orthodox stance.
Yoenis Tellaz vs. Johan Gonzalez [super welterweight]
Now we have a cracker on our hands as Cuba's Yoenis Tellaz takes on Venezuela's Johan Gonzalez in a ten round super welterweight bout for the North American Latino title.
Cesar Mateo Tapia and Endry Saavedra in a Majority Draw!
The judges saw it as:
94-92 Tapia
93-93
93-93
Majority draw! The crowd are not happy with that and there are boos ringing out in the arena.
You have to feel that Saavedra won that fight even if Tapia took that last round, and it was definitely close, there's three knockdowns that seemed to have swayed it in my view towards Saavedra.
Of course the only opinions that matter are those of the ringside judges.
As we head into the final round this fight was dead even before that knocked down in the last round. You have to feel that Saavedra has a commanding lead here and Tapia needs at least a knockdown if not a knockout to win this.
Saavedra is staying on the front foot pushing forward. Tapia is coming back with that hard right hand that has served him so well and just as the momentum looks to change, yet again Saavedra throws that beautiful left uppercut that just shakes tapia to the core.
There's still a minute to go and they are clinched and struggling. They trade body shots and Saavedra lands a heavy right hand. He is really swinging for that home run shot and he rocks Saavedra who's now stumbling on his feet.
They exchanged left hooks and as the clock winds down they stand against the ropes and just trade. The bell goes and they embrace! What a fight!
Saavedra comes out and is really working the body and tapia is in real trouble here. He's trying to hold on but Saavedra is just staying on him with a flurry of body shots and he drops him with a minute and a half to go!
Tapia is holding on for dear life here! He manages to get back up and beat the count but he is shattered! Saavedra stays on top of him, a real dog and just going to work on the body.
Tapia is holding on for dear life and he manages to see the end of the round.
As they come together at the beginning of the round they are twisting away as that right hand of tapia hits the back of Saavedra’s head. It draws a stern word from the referee, but Saavedra looks as if he needs a few more seconds to shake this off. The referee calls time and lets him get ready before starting the fight again.
That seems to have woken Saavedra up and he is really bullying Tapia this round, pushing him back, getting him onto the ropes and having his way with him.
Tapia comes to life with a minute left and starts to work Saavedra’s body. A huge left uppercut from Saavedra catches Tapia just before the bell and snaps his head back. What a great round by Saavedra!
We're over the hump here beyond halfway and this fight is now switching again. Tapia started really well and then Saavedra chopped him down in the middle before Tapia coming back. Every time you think he has nothing left to give he sits back and unloads that right hand that is just doing nuclear level damage to Saavedra.
Saavedra is still trying to stay on the front foot, marching forward, walking his man down. Tapia seems to be happy working off the back foot, sitting underneath that right hand.
Ohh! Sabedra leans forward to work the body, landing three shots and Tapia delivers a short right that really shakes Saavedra right to his socks!
Both fighters have been dropped now and this is really wide open. Tapia may not have fully regained his composure but he is certainly back in this fight.
They stand in the middle and trade and while Saavedra continues to chip away at the body Tapia looks to have his legs back underneath him again.
Those head clashes early did some damage to tapia but now it looks as if there's some swelling under Saavedra’s right eye as well. Tapia steps back and throws another huge right hand. He's sitting back and really loading up on that punch. So far Saavedra has really taken it well but another one here lands and Saavedra is wobbled. His knees turned to Jelly there for a second but he was able to hold on and regain his legs.
Right as the round is coming to a close a good three punch combo to the body and a big right hand by Tapia and Saavedra is looking like he has nothing left to give.
That cut under Tapia's right eye is beginning to swell. That could become important as this fight continues. Saavedra continues to pepper Tapia's body and it looks like a question of when not if.
Tapia lands a big right hand but Saavedra comes back and stumbles him with a huge left hook of his own. He has been chopping him down with the shots to the body and it looks as if it's going to pay dividends. Tapia is absolutely shattered.
In the final minute, Saavedra lands a nice right hand and pushes Tapia back onto the ropes yet again. With ten seconds to go in the round Tapia lands a huge right that drops Saavedra! That came out of nowhere! Saavedra beats the count and as the fight continues the bell comes in and really saves him there. What a huge shot by Tapia!
Saavedra comes out and really wants to end this here. Tapia is not quite finished and he catches Saavedra with a short right. They clinch and Saavedra is working Tapia's body, pushing him onto the ropes.
Another body shot and Tapia is in a lot of bother here. Great exchange and Tapia seems to have come off the worst for it. Saavedra lands an overhand right that stumbles the Australian backwards.
A better round from Tapia but at the moment he is just surviving.
Tapia is still pushing forward trying to keep the fight on the inside working the body of Saavedra. A beautiful short right by Saavedra on the inside really snaps Tapia's head back.
There's another clash of heads. This looks like it's going to be the way this fight it's going to play out because both are pushing in hard.
Ohh! Great shot from Saavedra pushes Tapia back and his man jumps on him pushing the advantage! Tapia is bleeding from under the eye as well as on top of the head. Saavedra really unloads lets his hands fly and drops Tapia!
He manages to beat the count but he's in real trouble here! Saavedra jumps straight back onto him and he's dropped again! Tapia is in a ton of trouble! The referee warns him that if he's knocked down one more time the fight is going to be stopped. He allows it to continue now and Tapia saved by the bell.
Tapia comes out working in the second round a little quicker than he did in the first. He lands a nice one too and then goes downstairs with a beautiful left hook.
Saavedra comes forward and swats with that jab rather than a straight poke he sort of swats the lead hand out of the way and lands are nice straight right that pushes Tapia backwards.
A lovely one-two from Saavedra and he gets a little greedy. Comes forward and gets caught with a counter hook that stops his attack dead in his tracks. Tapia was let off the hook a little bit there, but this is much better from the Venezuelan.
Tapia is pushing the fight inside working in close and there must have been a clash of heads because there is a knot and a little bit of blood coming from the very top of Tapia's head. A very nice round by Saavedra.
Both men come out working from the orthodox stance, quiet, probing, testing each other with tentative jabs. Neither is willing to go too soon, wary of the other's counter punching ability.
Saavedra comes forward with a three punch combo but Tapia wraps him up. When they break, Tapia comes back with a sharp one two to the body before ducking out of the way of what was coming back. Nice work by the Australian.
Saavedra manages to get inside and deliver a solid right hook that pushes Tapia back.
Cesar Mateo Tapia vs. Endry Saavedra [middleweight]
We get things going with a great middleweight matchup between Australia's Cesar Mateo Tapia and Venezuela's Endry Saavedra. This bout is scheduled for ten rounds.
Preliminary results
Justin Viloria vs. Diuhl Olguin [super featherweight]
Justin Viloria gets the TKO in the seventh round over Diuhl Olguin to improve to 7-0 with five KOs.
Daintier Pero vs. Willie Jake Jr. [heavyweight]
Dainier Pero KOs Willie Jake Jr, bringing his record to 9-0 with 7 knockouts.
The Full Card
Main Card
Tim Tszyu vs. Bakhram Murtazaliev [IBF super welterweight title]
Cesar Mateo Tapia vs. Endry Saavedra [middleweight]
Yoenis Tellaz vs. Johan Gonzalez [super welterweight]
Daintier Pero vs. Willie Jake Jr. [heavyweight]
Justin Viloria vs. Diuhl Olguin [super featherweight]
Preliminary card
Carlos Jackson vs. Ryan Lee Allen [super bantamweight]
Daniel Blancas vs. Marco Delcado
Gary Antonio Russell vs. Jaden Burnias
Jocksan Blanco vs. Angel IIarrazo
Roberto Raul Rivera Gomez vs. Jenn Gonzalez [featherweight]
Michael Garcia vs. Carlos Aguilera Martinez
The main undercard is set to get underway at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
Tale of the tape
Bakhram Murtazaliev
Age: 31
Country: Russia
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 6ft 0in
Reach: 73”
Record: 22-0-0
Tim Tszyu
Age: 29
Country: Australia
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5ft 8.5in
Reach: 70.5”
Record: 24-1-0
WELCOME!!!
Welcome to Diario AS USA’s live coverage of the IBF junior middleweight title bout between Bakhram Murtazaliev and Tim Tszyu at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Tim Tszyu's path back to the top is anything but smooth. After a tough loss to Sebastian Fundora, he's now staring down another serious challenge in Bakhram Murtazaliev. This Saturday, Tszyu will step into the ring to face Murtazaliev, the reigning IBF junior middleweight champion, hoping to regain the momentum he lost earlier this year.
2024 hasn’t been kind to Tszyu. His first setback came when his original opponent, Keith Thurman, withdrew due to injury just before their March 30 fight. With little time to adjust, Tszyu found himself up against the towering and dangerous Sebastian Fundora instead. Fundora’s awkward style and significant height advantage gave Tszyu all he could handle, and to make matters worse, Tszyu suffered a nasty cut early in the fight. The bloody battle went to the judges, who handed Fundora a split decision victory, costing Tszyu the WBO junior middleweight title.
Following that loss, Tszyu aimed to rebound in August, with a fight lined up against Vergil Ortiz Jr. But that plan fell apart when Tszyu’s injuries from the Fundora fight hadn't fully healed. By September, it seemed Tszyu’s shot at redemption would come against Erickson Lubin in an IBF eliminator. Then, Lubin pulled out due to a hand injury, forcing the IBF to order the fight between Tszyu and Murtazaliev.
The stakes are high, and the future remains uncertain. There’s talk that the winner might face Lubin in early 2025, but Tszyu can’t afford to look past the task at hand. He knows he’s in for a tough fight. "Murtazaliev is a dog. That always presents a tremendous task. He's strong and he's got a competitive edge. I'm looking forward to fighting someone like that," Tszyu said during a recent workout. Reflecting on his loss to Fundora, he added, "Could've, would've, should've, my last fight is all in the past. I just have to move on and look for answers another way."
Murtazaliev, with an undefeated record of 22-0 and 16 knockouts, is not someone to overlook. His rise to the IBF title was delayed, but when he finally got his shot against Jack Culcay in April, he showed grit and determination. Fighting while fasting due to Ramadan, Murtazaliev seemed to lose some steam as the fight wore on. But in the 11th round, he unleashed a barrage of punches that secured a late stoppage and the IBF belt. That kind of resilience is what makes him dangerous against a fighter like Tszyu.
This fight isn’t just about Tszyu’s redemption; it’s about Murtazaliev proving that he belongs among the elite. His power and aggressive style are a real threat to Tszyu, especially with the possibility of reopening the cut from the Fundora fight, which required 15 stitches to close. Murtazaliev has shown he can push through adversity, and that makes him a live underdog in this bout.
But when Tszyu is on his game, he’s a force. His offensive output can overwhelm opponents, and his power is nothing to scoff at. If he can shake off the setbacks of this year and avoid the mistakes he made against Fundora, he should have the tools to handle Murtazaliev. Still, it’s not going to be an easy night for either fighter.
With both men having something to prove, this fight could end up being one of the most exciting of the year. It’s the kind of bout where anything could happen, and Tszyu, hungry to get back on track, will need to weather some storms to reclaim his place among the champions.