Tim Tszyu blames his recent third-round knockout defeat against IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev on his belief that he could “get rid of him in two or three rounds” on October 19th last year.

Career on the Line

Tszyu, 30, may not want to admit it, but his career is on the line this Sunday, April 6th, against Joey Spencer (19-1, 11 KOs) at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Broadmeadow, Newcastle. Tim has lost his last two fights against Bakhram and Sebastuan Fundora. Losing to Spencer, 24, would be the final blow for Tszyu’s sinking career.

Certainly, he could keep fighting, but it would be one of the many contenders in the 154-lb division and not one of the guys on the up. He would be heading towards veteran status.

If Tim is lucky, he could stick around the spot for another 10 to 11 years and make good money as an opponent for the top guys the way British journeyman Derek Chisora has done at heavyweight. He’s made a fortune fighting as the B-side opponent for the killers.

The former WBO 154-lb champion Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs) says he was landing some big shots on Murtazaliev (23-0, 8 KOs) at the start of the fight, But then he got caught with a big punch in the second, and never recovered. Murtazliev then dropped him four times in scoring a third round knockout.

Overconfidence?

“I thought I could get rid of him in two or three rounds. That’s what my mentality was going through,” said Tim Tszyu to Fight Hub TV about one of the reasons that led to his loss to Bakhram Murtazaliev last October. “I was going to go in with fireworks, and you can’t be doing that.

“I was landing some big shots at first, but all it really took was one shot that I made a mistake from. I never really gathered myself after that. It was sort of a different mentality change. How I felt leading into it, I felt on top of the world. I felt unbelievable and sharp. I don’t know what it was exactly, but lessons learned,” said Tszyu.

It was more than one shot that Tszyu was hit with that led to his defeat. He initially dropped in the second round by a big left hook by Murtazaliev. But after that, Tszyu continued to press the champion Bakhram and didn’t back off to try and box. Tim stuck with the same approach without making any adjustments and was there to be hit with the same punch repeatedly.

“When I rewatched it, it was a lot of lessons learned. I watched it from a tactical perspective, and it was different. I got hit with a shot that I shouldn’t have been hit with and defend it in a certain way. I’ve been hit with shots but usually I’ve recovered. I wasn’t able to recover myself this time. I don’t know what it was exactly.

“I could have been the rehydration stuff, but it wasn’t ideal. You live, and you learn. Don’t get caught with it again,” said Tszyu.