Tim Tszyu destroys Dennis Hogan with sickening body shot barrage

Tim Tszyu is officially the king of Australian boxing, earning a new nickname while thrashing Irishman Dennis Hogan to a bloody pulp.

Tim Tszyu’s world title quest is now a demand after he destroyed Dennis Hogan in a clinical stoppage victory in Newcastle on Wednesday night.

The 26-year-old had been crunched into Winx-like odds before the fight as the heavy favourite to continue his march towards a world title shot.

Tszyu’s world title ambitions took a monster step forward when he defended his WBO global super welterweight belt in a win that demands an eventual showdown with champion Brian Castano in 2021.

Tszyu said before the fight he was going to take Hogan to the deep end and drown him in a prediction that he would finish Hogan in the later rounds.

Hogan could only make it to Round 5 before Tszyu’s body barrage left him in real trouble.

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Tszyu showed power, precision and perfect judgment to leave Hogan’s poor stomach pummelled. The game-plan was as good as it gets, with Tszyu doing the damage to the body and head with some searing combinations.

Tim Tszyu tenderised Dennis Hogan’s tummy.

Hogan was lucky to survive the fourth round when Tszyu left him keeled over as a result of shots to his liver. Tszyu then showed his boxing craft by going in for the kill straight at Hogan’s head when he could smell how wounded his opponent was.

While powerful body shots set up the TKO stoppage, it was Tszyu’s flying left uppercut that did the real damage. It was a left hand that dropped Hogan earlier in the round – and then Tszyu went back to his left hand uppercut to end it with another shot that left Hogan leaning forward into Tszyu’s chest in an attempt to avoid more punishment. The second clean uppercut was the final straw for Hogan’s team, who threw in the towel with 30 seconds left in Round 5.

Tim Tszyu is going to give the super welterwight division nightmares.

Aussie boxing legend Barry Michael told Main Event Hogan’s team were right to throw in the towel.

“Dennis Hogan, he’d been down. The uppercuts nearly took his head off. The body shots were ripping him apart,” he said.

Michael said he is now referring to Tszyu as the “body snatcher” after seeing the pain his body shots can dish out. Main Event’s Ben Damon said Tszyu has earned the nickname “soul-taker” after doing exactly what he said he would by drowning Hogan in the deep end.

“From what I hear, his punching has been out of this world,” Michael said.

“What he has shown me he’s definitely world class.”

He is now an 18-0 undefeated fighter that is attracting attention on the global stage. He can almost taste that title shot against Castano, or the super welterweight division king Jermell Charlo.

The undercard exploded early with a series of dramatic stoppages.