IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) destroyed former WBO 154-lb champion Tim Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs) on Saturday night at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Murtazaliev dropped Tszyu four times in the fight, three times in round two, and a final time in the third. The time of the stoppage was at 1:55 of round three. Tszyu’s corner threw in the towel when he was out of his feet getting bludgeoned.
Undercard results
– Undefeated #15 WBO junior middleweight contender Yoenis Tellez (9-0, 7 KOs) knocked out Johan Gonzalez (35-4, 33 KOs) in the seventh round of a ten-round contest in the co-feature bout on the card.
The 24-year-old Cuban-born Tellez dropped the 33-year-old Gonzalez three times in the fight. Once in round six with a right on the chin, and then twice more in round seven to get the knockout. The time of the stoppage was at the 1:57 mark.
In the first knockdown of the seventh, Tellaz dropped Gonzalez with a left hook to the head. Moments later, Tellez flattened Gonzalez with a right hand. The referee then stepped in and stopped the contest.
– Middleweight Mateo Tapia (17-0-1, 10 KOs) and Endry Saavedra (16-1-1, 13 KOs) fought to a 10-round majority draw. Saavedra dropped Tapia three times in the contest, twice in the second round and another time in the ninth. Tapia dropped Saavedra with a big right hand in the fifth round.
The scores were 94-92 for Tapia, 93-93 and 93-93. “I don’t understand how I could knock him down three times and not get the win,” said Saavedra. “I’m highly disappointed. I gave it my all. For it to be taken away from me is very sad. I’m not sure where this fight should have to happen. Maybe in Valenzuela so they don’t take it away from me.”
The fight was incredibly exciting and easily the best on the card. Tapia looked like he was a goner in the third round when Saavedra dropped him twice. In the fourth, Saavedra continued to hurt Tapia with hard shots to the head. However, Tapia turned things around in the fifth round when he dropped Saavedra with a huge right hand to the head.
Tapia continued to tag Saavedra with powerful right hands in rounds six, seven, and eight before being dropped in the ninth. Saavedra took the fight to the inside and worked the body of Tapia, not allowing him the space needed to land his right hand.
– Super bantamweight prospect Gary Antonio Russell (20-1, 13 KOs) stopped Jaden Burnias (6–3, 4 KOs) in the fourth round. The time of the stoppage was at the 1:11 mark.
– 2020 Cuban Olympian heavyweight prospect Dainier Pero (9-0, 7 KOs) knocked out Willie Jake, Jr. (11-6-2, 3 KOs) in the third round.
– Undefeated super featherweight Justin Viloria (7-0, 5 KOs) prospect defeated Diuhl Olguin (16-41-7, 10 KOs) by a seventh-round knockout.
