Tim Tszyu defeats Jeff Horn in boxing 'masterclass'
Tim Tszyu is the real deal. The young gun annihilated Jeff Horn in brutal fashion to officially end his reign as the top dog of Australian boxing.
"My name's Tim, not the son."
With those words, Tim Tszyu officially stepped out of his father's shadow and announced himself as the new king of Australian boxing.
Known for so long as the offspring of boxing legend Kostya, Tim delivered a performance for the ages to absolutely destroy Jeff Horn in their super welterweight clash in Townsville.
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The man who made his name by beating Manny Pacquiao in 2017 was made to look second-rate by a fighter on the rise.
Horn's camp threw in the towel at the end of the eighth round as it became clear its pupil could take no more punishment after being out-boxed from the opening round.
"This is a young man's sport and I was better this time," Tszyu said after praising Horn's contribution to Australian boxing.
"Give me competition, someone that can test me, and it's sink or swim. I'm not going to sink. I'm here to swim.
"I'm here to fly the flag for Australia and represent every one of these people in Townsville, all over Australia, Russia.
"This is just the beginning and this motivates me to keep going."
Tszyu was unbeaten in his professional career heading into Wednesday night's fight but there were questions around whether he could make the step up against a fighter of a different pedigree to those he's faced before. After eight rounds, there was no doubt about the 25-year-old's class.
He was lasered in from the very beginning, landing a couple of nice right hands that were to become a feature of the fight. Horn started the aggressor, walking forwards while Tszyu tried to keep him at range in the first round, and the younger man knew exactly what he was doing.
Horn was trying to do some damage from the inside but Tszyu kept his cool and picked his moments. He knocked his opponent to the canvas multiple times in the third round as he showed off a brutal array of body shots that caused Horn enormous pain.
It was more of the same in the fourth - Tszyu had barely raised a sweat while Horn was gassed. "An unbelievable performance from Tim Tszyu so far," commentator Ben Damon said, adding we were witnessing a "masterclass".
Horn tried to slow things down but he was only delaying the inevitable. He was unable to land any clean blows while Tszyu showed the composure of a much more experienced fighter and proved he could hurt with both hands, a left hook to the body causing Horn to crumple in agony.
"We're watching the arrival of a star in Australian boxing, and in global boxing," Damon said.
"They knew Kostya Tszyu. Well, with the quality of this performance, what can Tim Tszyu do?
"This is world-class boxing.
"It was utter destruction."
Horn issued a classy message after defeat, urging Australia to get behind Tszyu because he is now the country's No. 1 fighter.
This may well be the Queenslander's last fight but he wouldn't make any revelations about his future in the ring, simply saying it was "time to go home" and give his "girls a cuddle".
Originally published as Tim Tszyu defeats Jeff Horn in boxing 'masterclass'