Bakhram Murtazaliev scores stunning upset knockout of Tim Tszyu to retain junior middleweight title

The Russian thrashed his opponent to the tune of four total knockdowns

Bakhram Murtazaliev spent years waiting to get a shot at the IBF junior middleweight championship before finally winning the title in April. On Saturday night, he got a statement win in his first title defense, battering Tim Tszyu for a third-round TKO.

Tszyu entered as a clear favorite according to the gambling odds, but the fight had all the potential in the world to turn into a firefight between two aggressive offensive fighters. Tszyu was willing to play that game with the champion but that proved to be his demise as Murtazaliev was able to deliver his shots more quickly and with more impact.

As the fighters traded big shots in the second round, Murtazaliev landed a left hook that put Tszyu down on the canvas. A straight left moments later was the second knockdown of the round and then a right hand dropped Tszyu for the third time.