Nikita Tszyu admits to ‘wake-up call’ after ninth-round firefight win over Koen Mazoudier

Nikita Tszyu survived a torrid bout with domestic rival Koen Mazoudier, scoring a ninth-round stoppage but having to walk through fire to do so.

The junior middleweights topped the bill at the ICC Sydney Theatre and Tszyu made a strong start.

Mazoudier was always looking for openings but Tszyu’s variety was giving the Blacktown, New South Wales, product problems, with southpaw Tszyu mixing up his attack to the head and body and landing some powerful long left hands through the first two rounds.

With 20 seconds left in the second, Tszyu scored with a big left hand and Mazoudier’s legs dramatically dipped. He somehow managed to stand back up, but the writing was seemingly on the wall.

Mazoudier appeared to have few answers. And as good as Tszyu was with his aggression, he was also proving to be a hard target, moving his head and feet so Mazoudier couldn’t land anything that might have been able to buy him some respite.

Mazoudier tried to steady the ship and while he was not lacking in courage, he was paying a price for being in close with Tszyu, working away and shipping some straight lefts and right uppercuts in the fifth.

Still, Mazoudier had his own success and was giving Tszyu both rounds and plenty to think about.  

It was hard-fought through the sixth as terms started to level up. Both took big shots. Tszyu’s left hand repeatedly found a home and he threw bursts of scoring punches although Mazoudier landed a heavy shot on the bell that seemed to steady Tszyu. Both bled from their noses.

Mazoudier poured on the pressure towards the end of the seventh, catching a retreating Tszyu several times, who was caught pulling out after throwing combinations. Tszyu was rocked by a succession of shots.

By the eighth, Mazoudier had a swagger and continued to grind away. Tszyu didn’t have the experience to buy time or hold, and every time he was hit, he gamely attempted to battle back. Ridges of swelling formed around his face, possibly from one of many right hands he swallowed.

No matter how elusive Tszyu had appeared earlier, that was long gone. Mazoudier seemed to get stronger and more emboldened as the fight wore on but with little more than a minute left in the ninth, Tszyu cracked Mazoudier with a left hand and Tszyu gambled with his follow up, throwing everything he had left at his groggy opponent.

Mazoudier who seemed suddenly exhausted, tried to throw back, but there was almost nothing on his punches.

Tszyu, meanwhile, motored away with both hands and Mazoudier started to take more and more shots and, as he dropped his hands, referee Chris Condon intervened. Mazoudier, tough as they come, was never off his feet, but the stoppage seemed timely. 

When asked whether he might fight Michael Zerafa next, Tszyu said it was up to promoters and managers to decide his future.

“I had to work for that,” admitted Tszyu. “That was not easy. It sucked during the fight, but the feeling now is indescribable.

“I take my hat off to Koen. He’s one tough bastard. I did not expect him to be that hard. I didn’t expect the fight to be that hard… I had to push through and dig deep.”

Sydney’s Tszyu is now 10-0 (8 KOs), while Mazoudier is 12-4-1 (5 KOs).