‘Made of granite’: Takeshi Inoue blows Australia away after Tim Tszyu onslaught

Tim Tszyu’s winning streak rolled on but the man on the other side of the ring won the respect of every Australian boxing fan.

This was round one and Inoue went the distance. Photo: Fox Sports

Tim Tszyu is heading for a world title fight after making a statement against Japanese star Takeshi Inoue, despite not being able to stop him for good inside 12 rounds.

Tszyu claimed a unanimous points decision win, losing just a single round on one of the judge’s cards in a dominant 120-107, 120-107, 119-108 victory.

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The Aussie rained down massive uppercuts, brutal body shots and savage hooks around his guard but he wasn’t able to knock Inoue down until the 12th round — and even that was contentious because of the slippery advertising sticker in the middle of the ring.

It was a remarkable performance from both men as Tszyu was at his brutal best, while Inoue never went down even with all the punishment he copped.

“He’s done himself proud, he’s an outstanding fighter and he’s very tough,” Main Event presenter Ben Damon said during the 12th round.

He added that Inoue “showed otherworldly toughness” and needed to visit hospital after the bout for a check-up.

One tough dude! Takeshi Inoue is off to the hospital to get checked. He deserves his Fanta #TszyuInouepic.twitter.com/f8joHzfEih

— Ben Damon (@ben_damon) November 17, 2021

Inoue just kept going. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Commentator Paul Kent said Inoue was “something else”, while Aussie boxing icon Barry Michael said Inoue has a “granite chin”.

But the most telling comments came from Tszyu himself, who couldn’t believe Inoue was still standing at the end of the fight.

“It was a great experience. The guy’s built like a brick wall,” Tsyzu said in the ring after the fight. “F***ing hit him with anything and he doesn’t go down.

“I don’t think any of the heavyweights can drop him. He’s a brick wall, literally. Hands up to him man, that’s a warrior.”

While it was Inoue’s second professional loss in his 20th fight, the 31-year-old was battered from the opening round.

“In all honesty, I heard him squeal like 20 times and he still wouldn’t go down,” Tszyu continued. “His face, it’s completely battered, his body, I’m sure he’s going to be sore tomorrow but man, what a warrior. F***.”

Asked about how much he felt Inoue’s power, Tszyu, who escaped reasonably unscathed, brushed it off.

“I didn’t feel s***,” he said. “I was just having a good time in all honesty.”

That face copped plenty of punishment. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Tszyu is the mandatory challenger for Brian Castano’s WBO title and has long called out the men ahead of him.

But he did say Inoue’s toughness gave him a reality check of what he needed to bring to match it with the best in the world.

“Honestly I think that was the best thing that could have happened, getting a good 12 rounds in before I hit big time,” Tszyu said. “I’ll be back in the gym, I gotta be well more prepared than that because I need to take these guys out and I need to keep taking them all out one by one. The grind continues.”

Australia was in awe of Inoue raving about the star’s incredible durability in the face of Tszyu’s onslaught.

Takeshi might be a robot designed to take punches

7th round to Tim #TszyuInoue

— Liam Flanagan (@ljflannas) November 17, 2021

Inoue is made of granite, but Tszyu is stalking him down and countering his shots well, 99-91 heading into the championship rounds. Inoue needs a KO to win this

— Jamie Pandaram (@JamiePandaram) November 17, 2021

Inoue is real tough. Anyone in worse condition is having a lie down right now

— cody kaye (@Cody_KayeFOX) November 17, 2021

Good fight…Inoue one tough cookie…bravo Tim..xmb #Tszyu

— Mark Bosnich (@TheRealBozza) November 17, 2021

Michael added later the result may have been the best thing for Tszyu.

“You can’t knock everybody out, he’s just proved that,” he said. “He’s going to fight tough opponents, Tim, and this was a great learning curve for Tim Tszyu, I believe. Twelve hard rounds against a world-class tough opponent. I think it was great.”