Revealed: The agonisingly small difference between Tim Tszyu losing and retaining his world title

One of the bloodiest battles in Australian boxing history all boiled down to a crucial 12th and final round, but how close did Tim Tszyu get from retaining his belt? See the scorecards for the true story.

WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu v Sebastian Fundora during the title fight at T-Mobile Arena on March 30, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo - Supplied No Limit Boxing

Tim Tszyu would still be a world champion if ringside judge Dave Sutherland had awarded the Aussie the 12th and final round of his brutal world title bout with Sebastian Fundora.

Meanwhile, the most famous cut-man in boxing said he “felt sorry” for Tszyu after his corner was unable to stem the flow of blood dripping down his head.

Sutherland had Fundora winning 115-113 – or seven rounds to five – with his scorecard coming down to the very last round, which he gave to Fundora.

Judge Tim Cheatham had the fight 116-112 to Tszyu, while Steve Weisfeld scored it 116-112 Fundora.

Just one more round in Tszyu’s favour on Sutherland’s card would have resulted in a split draw, and Tszyu would have retained his WBO world title.

Stats show Tszyu slightly edged Fundora in total punches landed in that crucial final round.

As he desperately searched for a knockout punch, Tszyu virtually ignored his jab, but connected with 15 of the 32 power shots he threw in the final three minutes.

Tim Cheatham had Tszyu winning, while Dave Sutherland and Steve Weisfeld favoured Fundora. Picture: Supplied

That’s more power punches than he landed in the previous two rounds (14 and nine respectively) which Sutherland awarded him.

But it was Fundora’s work-rate and jab that won the last round and the fight. The American threw a whopping 72 punches in the last round, landing 17 of them for a paltry strike rate of just 23.6%.

Even though he was fighting blind, Tszyu landed 18 of the 44 total punches he threw – including those 15 thunderous power punches – for a 40.9% rate of connection down the stretch.

The morning after the fight, Jacob ‘Stitch’ Duran, who is widely considered the best cut-man in the business, said Tszyu’s corner mishandled the cut and that the fight should have been stopped after the fourth round.

Will we see a rematch between Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora? Picture: No Limit Boxing

“It’s important to have a good corner with you, because they should have stopped it before the start of the fifth round,” Duran said.

“It would have been a no contest and they would’ve had the chance for a rematch and protect him.

“I felt sorry for him. I felt bad that all the techniques that were being used on him were not the proper techniques on how to handle cuts.

“I wish Tim Tszyu the best.”

Duran has worked some of the biggest fights in boxing and UFC history.

He had worked Brian Mendoza and Rolando Romero’s fights earlier in the night and was watching the main event backstage when Tszyu was cut.

He explained what Tszyu’s corner did wrong.

“This guy here, from the Tszyu camp, he has his bottle of adrenaline, and he’s getting the mixture in there (during the fight). That should’ve been done way before,” Duran told the Mill City Boxing YouTube channel. “You lose seconds.

Should have the fight been stopped? Picture: Getty Images

“He’s putting that bloody towel on top of the swab. I’m sitting in the dressing room watching the fights with this other cut man and I’m saying, ‘The reason you don’t put a towel on that is because the adrenaline you put on the mixture is going to be absorbed into the towel, and it loses potency. Very common sense.

“I guess he ran out of swabs. We use swabs – the ones you use for testing for Covid, just a little bit of cotton. He used three of those on that big old cut.

“Everything was wrong.”

Tszyu was making no excuses the morning after the fight.

“Congratulations to Sebastian Fundora,” he Tweeted. “Well earned victory. Never backed out of any challenge and trying to inspire the next generation to fight through all adversities that are presented.

“I’ll be back. For ALL the belts. The goal remains the same. Warrior shit only.”

Originally published as Revealed: The agonisingly small difference between Tim Tszyu losing and retaining his world title