Boxing Challenge: Murtazaliev drills Tszyu!

     Boxing found itself with another upset Saturday night as Bakhram Murtazaliev knocked Tim Tszyu down four times and pounded him so badly that Tszyu's corner was forced to move to the ring apron and literally wave the towel of surrender in the third round to retain his IBF junior middleweight title in Orlando Florida.

Tsyzu fought well in the first round and things seemed to be in place for Tsyzu for an entertaining victory before something happened in round two- Tszyu couldn't avoid Murtazaliev's left hand.

Murtazaliev scored three knockdowns with Tszyu barely able to reach the corner at the end of the round and the doctor took what seemed to be an extremely lengthy check on Tszyu before the third round, which I thought might have allowed Tsyzu to survive a pivotal time in the fight.

Murtazaliev was having none of that as he immediately attacked Tszyu, sending him to the floor again the fight could have been stopped then but Tazyu showed tremendous will in beating the count and was given one final chance with the admonition that one more knockdown would end the match.

Tsyzu gamely tried to fire back but without any legs under him, Murtazaliev battered Tszyu along the ropes before the corner tossed in the towel to end the fight.

For Murtazaliev, the victory retains his title but also could place him on the radar of the Riyadh Season promoters for bigger fights in the future.

For Tim Tszyu, the loss is a devastating one as the defeat to Sebastian Fundora was excusable under the circumstances but Tszyu lacks any excuse for this setback.

All is not lost, Tszyu fought hard, is always entertaining, and if you remember his father's career, Kostya Tszyi lost a fight to Vince Phillips by knockout that he battled back to hold titles and enter the Hall of Fame.

Still, Tszyu will need to be rebuilt, and I think he needs to be rebuilt over the next one to two years with fighters that can refurbish his reputation and rebuild his confidence.

Earlier in the day, Boxxer saw their talented junior welterweight Adam Azim walk through former contender Ohara Davies on his way to an eighth-round knockout in London.

Give Davies credit, he landed his share of right hands but he lacked the pop to deter Azim, who knocked down Davies in round five and almost finished him off with Davies surviving the round on very shaky legs.

Davies survived until the eighth when a left hook polished Davies off for the evening, with the referee ending the bout with Davies on his knees.

Davies was a step up in competition for Azim and Azim looks to be ready for the next level after an excellent performance.

In a fight that I haven't watched, William Scull won the IBF super middleweight title via unanimous decision over Vladimir Shiskin by unanimous decision to win the title that the IBF stripped from Canelo Alvarez for refusing to defend against the unknown Scull.

Scores for Scull were 116-113, 115-113 and 116-112.

I've read from some that Scull outboxed Shishkin and others that Shiskin deserved the decision but it's agreed that Shiskin hurt Scull in the final round and it's agreed that it was a boring fight.

It will be interesting to see who Scull will defend against and when will the IBF mandate that fight?

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 147 Pts (0)

TRS: 143 Pts (2)
Vince Samano: 88 Pts (2)