‘The real deal’: Nikita Tszyu rises off canvas, KOs Dylan Biggs to win Australian title
Nikita Tszyu was knocked down in the first round but the youngest prince of the Tszyu dynasty has shown exactly what he is made of.
With princes like these, the Tszyu legacy is secure.
Nikita Tszyu has become the Australia super welterweight champion with an insane comeback win to dethrone Dylan Biggs in the fifth round.
BOXING: Nikita Tszyu v Dylan Biggs WED 22nd NOV 7PM AEDT | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports
The upset was on in the first round when Aussie champion Biggs dropped Tszyu with a brutal right hand and we looked like we were in for something special.
Nikita said that it was a shock start to the fight as Biggs stunned him early.
“Deep waters at the very start, he caught me with a shot that I just didn’t see. He rocked me,” Tszyu said.
“That kind of punch was something to fear and something to watch out for.
“He was dangerous from the very start. As soon as I got up I was like ‘s**t, that was a good shot’.”
But while Nikita was slow at the start, he quickly worked his way into the fight.
After trading blows through rounds two and three, Tszyu absolutely dominated round four.
The barrage of haymakers left Biggs battered and bruised and the commentators stunned that he could even get out of the round.
In round five, Tszyu silenced any of the doubters, completing the win after a savage liver shot that left Biggs on the canvas.
At that point, the result was all but assured as Tszyu rained down more punches until the referee had no choice but to wave it off just before the bell.
It means the Tszyu’s combined record in Australia moves to 48-0 (38 KOs) between Kostya, Tim and Nikita.
Kostya had an 18-0 (15 KOs) record in Australia, Tim is at 22-0 (16KOs) and Nikita is now 8-0 (7KOs).
He also follows in Tim’s footsteps of winning the Australian title, his older brother claiming the Australian super welterweight title with his win over Joel Camilleri back in 2019.
Rubbing more salt into the wounds for Biggs, the Queenslander suffered a broken wrist in the fight.
After the fight, Main Event’s Ben Damon asked if Tszyu panicked when he was knocked down.
“I’m a slow starter — I don’t know why everyone thinks I’m a fast starter,” Tszyu said.
Damon replied: “Because you normally knock people out in the first round.”
Tszyu continued: “I normally cop a few punches in between though and it gets me going. There’s no coffee in the morning like a punch.”
When Tim Tszyu was questioned in the middle of the ring about his next fight, which is shaping to be before the NRL kicks off its opening round in Las Vegas next year, the older brother said: “You know who I’m chasing — let’s get Nikita chasing one of those guys as well. And we’ll bring all of Australia to Vegas. March 2nd, you know what’s up.”
Asked who Nikita should chase, Tim said: “Give him Tony Harrison, why not?”
Speaking later, Nitika said of his next fight being in Vegas: “I’m a pawn in the game of No Limits. They call the shots, I do what they tell me.
“Who next? No idea. I think Vegas is the next step, after that I’ve got no idea.”
After the fight The Courier Mail’s Peter Badel, who had tipped Biggs for the upset, bowed down at the new Aussie champion’s feet.
“This was for me the coming of age of Nikita Tszyu,” Badel said.
“You can see Dylan Biggs there, he’s a broken soul, he’s a battered soul.
“But I’ve got to say to Nikita, any doubts about him and his boxing ability are now erased.
“He’s the real deal, he’s stepped out of not only his father’s shadow but his brother’s gargantuan shadow.
“He has the mental toughness to overcome anything in the ring.”
He added that Tszyu wasn’t ready for a world title shot just yet.
“He hasn’t got the great boxing IQ of his brother just yet, but he’s got the heart,” Badel said. “He’s not ready for world titles yet but another four, five, six fights with overseas opponents, that will sharpen the iron and sharpen the axe, and I think he can win a world title.”
American commentator and former world champion Shawn Porter said he couldn’t deny that Nikita could win a title but that overseas opponents are next on his path.
While a world title isn’t immediately in the future, there’s no doubt the younger brother of Tim Tszyu is following in his big bro’s footsteps.
Nikita Tszyu is still a work in progress, but boy, does he make for fun TV.
— Aussie Boxing Scribe (@el_pollo_loco) November 22, 2023
#andnew
— ANBF Australia Official (@AnbfAustralia) November 22, 2023
Australian Super Welterweight Champion...
Nikita Tszyu 🔥
📸 @nolimit_aus pic.twitter.com/6xDgBguXSY
Round-by-round — Biggs Vs Tszyu
Round 1: Dylan Biggs has landed a first round knockdown, leaving Nikita Tszyu on his butt.
“In the first round, Tszyu’s on the canvas from that right hand we’ve heard so much about,” Damon said.
But Tszyu bounced back, dragging his way back into the round. 10-8 Biggs, but it was much closer than that.
Round 2: This is a high quality fight. Tszyu was much busier after his early knockdown in the first and pressed the pace much better.
“Better fighting from Nikita, I had him winning that round,” Porter said. 19-18 Biggs.
Round 3: Damn, this is a great, close fight. Biggs looked to have the better of the shots, landing some monster body shots. He also doubled up when he could, landing body and head blows. 29-27 Biggs.
Round 4: That round was all Nikita Tszyu. Biggs barely survived that one as Tszyu rained down haymakers. Biggs somehow survived nearly 90 seconds when he was in a dark, dark place. 38-37 Biggs but wouldn’t surprise us if it was a 10-8 round to Tszyu.
Round 5: Tszyu wasn’t as wild in the fifth, but landed some telling blows to drop Biggs, raining down punches until the ref had no choice but to wave it off.
Full card
Nikita Tszyu defeated Dylan Biggs by TKO, Round 5 — for Australian Super Welterweight title
Issac Hardman defeated Troy Coleman by TKO, Round 5 — for WBO Intercontinental Middleweight title
Brandon Grach defeated Liam Talivaa by KO, Round 2
Joel Pavlides defeated Mounir Fathi via unanimous decision (56-58 x3)
Jason Fawcett defeated Jordan Martin via unanimous decision (48-46x3)
Dharringarra Trewhella defeated Brent Walton via unanimous decision (39-38, 39-36, 38-37)
Natasha Kurene defeated Amber Amelia via unanimous decision (59-55x2, 58-56)
Mark Schleibs defeated Shamal Ram Anuj by KO, round 5
9.55pm - Isaac Hardman is back, baby
After losses to Michael Zerafa and Rohan Murdock, Isaac Hardman has delivered a statement win against the 12-2 Troy Coleman.
Hardman outclassed Coleman from the opening bell, waiting for his shot, and almost finishing it at the end of the fourth.
After Coleman lost his mouthguard, Hardman unleashed with Coleman only just holding on until the bell.
He could barely make it back to his seat and it was clear the fight was as good as done.
And so it was as Hardman finished him off for another huge win.
Attention all now turns to Tszyu vs Biggs and after all the conjecture, title-holder Biggs walked to the ring first.
9.25pm - ‘Oh s**t’: Legend blown away by KO
Brandon Grach has KO’ed Liam Talivaa early in the second round of one of the wildest heavyweight fights you’ll see.
The heavyweight were there for a good time, not a long time and saw Grach, then Talivaa knocked down late in the first round.
The commentators were calling it “the round of the year”.
But four seconds into the second round, he left Talivaa unconscious with a brutal left hand.
Main Event commentator and former world champion Shawn Porter was blown away.
“Oh s**t,” Porter said.
Fellow commentator Ben Damon added: “That was a shot from ‘The Bull’ that would have knocked out a bull.
“A massive, monstrous knockout that you will see time and time again.”
Even Nikita Tszyu backstage was blown away by the shot.
8.30pm - Mundine tells Biggs to ‘stay in his lane’
Anthony Mundine is in the crowd in Newcastle and urged Dylan Biggs to swallow his pride and walk out first despite being the champion, who usually gets the honour of coming out last.
Mundine recalled similar ring walk controversy when he fought then Australian champion Marc Bagero in 2001.
Mundine told reporters: “At the end of the day, who’s the one putting bums on seats? Who’s the guy that’s bringing the crowd, bringing the hype? You’ve got to give that to Nikita.
“Dylan is obviously a great fighter but doesn’t have that household name.
“Like I did with my dad, they did with their dad Kostya. He’s the A-side, he calls the shots, the same thing happened when I was fighting for the Australian title.
“Nikita’s given him an opportunity on this stage to catapult his career and popularity in the sport. At the end of the day, he’s got to know who he is and stay in his lane. And his lane is the B-side. That’s just that.
“When I came into the sport I revived it with mouth to mouth and it’s still flourishing today because of the Tszyu boys. They’re carrying the torch. I had my time, now it’s their time until the sun sets on them. They’ve got to call the shots.”
8.20pm - Undercard heats up
Jason Fawcett is back in the winner’s circle rebounding from a recent loss with a unanimous decision win over Jordan Martin to take his record to 7-1.
Fawcett recovered from an early knockdown to get the win.
Joel Pavlides defeated Mounir Fathi via unanimous decision (56-58x3), handing Fathi his first professional loss.
The Courier Mail’s Peter Badel said on Main Event: “This is a bit of a wake up call for Mounir Fathi. He’s been blasting blokes out of the ring — 6-0 with 6KOs. But he was out-boxed tonight.”
7.39pm — Great scenes after a brilliant fight
The nephew of Anthony Mundine, Dharringara Trewhella, has won his professional boxing debut with a brilliant four-round war against Brent Walton.
It was an impressive performance by both men, with the scorecards all over the place.
But they all went for Trewhella.
No Limit boss George Rose revealed afterwards that both men would get $5k bonuses, saying “there's no losers here tonight, that’s how you open a Main Event card”.
7.04pm — Tszyu legacy goes on the line
Nikita Tszyu is not only fighting for himself tonight, but the legacy of the Tszyu family.
In the past 30 years, via Kostya, Tim and Nikita, a Tszyu has not lost in 47 fights on Australian soil.
Kostya had an 18-0 (15 KOs) record, Tim is at 22-0 (16KOs) and Nikita is 7-0 (6KOs) in Australia. Combined, that’s 47-0 (37 KOs).
But it’ll be a 50-50 proposition in this fight according to Shawn Porter, and the underdog, yet champion, Dylan Biggs has vowed to end the record.
Asked what he could do to the Tszyu family legacy, Biggs said: “Finish it.”
Tim Tszyu was on the Main Event panel and lashed out at the comments.
“I think that’s quite disrespectful in my eyes,” Tszyu said. “For what dad and what we’ve done for the sport in Newcastle, and what Nikita’s done for all the fans here, you can’t just delete a memory.
“A victory will make a big statement for him in his career but as for destroying a legacy, that’s not happening.”
Shawn Porter said that was the exact attitude Tim would take into the fight.
Earlier, Tszyu had said Nikita had almost the same mentality as he does, and that a win against Biggs would open up the world.
“Ah of course, we’ve only had good memories here and what a way to finish it off for Nikita by winning the Australian title against a very notable opponent in Dylan Biggs,” Tszyu said.
“Cleaning out your domestic scene is where it all begins.
“Before a fighter goes overseas and gets the international experience, you have to clean out what’s in front of you.
“This is the first step for Nikita towards many, many big fights in the future.”
But The Courier Mail’s Peter Badel argued that Biggs had a similar mentality as Tim Tszyu.
6.26pm — ‘He’s asleep’: Insane KO stuns commentators
The night has opened with an insane start after Mark Schleibs demolished Shamal Ram Anuj with what two-time world champion Billy Dib called the “knockout of the year”.
In the fifth of six rounds, Schleibs backed the Fijian into the corner, before unleashing a jaw shattering punch on Anuj.
Is this the Knockout of the Year? We'll let you decide.
— Aus-Boxing.com (@ausboxing) November 22, 2023
Mark Schleibs detonated this left hook on Shamal Ram Anuj. #ozboxing#boxing#TszyuBiggspic.twitter.com/PsA3zIo1Rt
The KO blow left the Fijian on the canvas in scary scenes as he was draped over the rope in the corner.
The doctor spent plenty of time with Anuj but he was eventually helped up onto the stool before he left the ring.
Billy Dib said: “Wow, he’s asleep.”
Dan Ginnane added: “He is celebrating already, that’s a vicious shot that’s ended this fight and Mark Schleibs is back.
“Wow, what a statement.”
Barry Michael added: “What a knockout. One of the best knockouts I’ve seen in ages. Unbelievable knockout.”
Dib asked: “Is that knockout of the year? That’s got to be knockout of the year. That has to be knockout of the year.”
It’s a return to the winner’s circle for the Melburnian Schleibs, who returned to bantamweight after losing his last two fights to Brock Jarvis and Rocky Ogden at super bantam.
It takes his record to 13-2 with two KOs.
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