Tszyu Cruises Past Nurja, Spence Next?

Australian superstar and former world champion Tim Tszyu earned a second consecutive dominant unanimous decision victory as he overwhelmed the previously unbeaten Denis Nurja in the main event of PBC Championship Boxing on Prime Video action on Saturday night (U.S. time) from the Wollongong Entertainment Centre in Australia.

“He’s tough and I expected that,” said Tszyu (27-3, 18 KOs). “He came in with the perfect record, so I knew he was no joke. I had him a couple times but he didn’t drop. Those were some good rounds. I was trying to take him out, he’s just tough. Big respect.”

In his second fight with trainer Pedro Diaz, Tszyu continued his rise back to world title contention at 154 pounds with a strong overall performance that saw him dominate early and often. Tszyu faced some adversity early in round four when a headbutt caused a cut under his left eye, but he quickly bounced back just a minute later when he caught Nurja (20-1, 9 KOs) with a left hook that put Nurja on the mat.

Nurja was able to rise to his feet, but continued to take punishment, including an overhand right in round six that wobbled the Albanian. In round seven, a desperate Nurja was deducted a point for excessive holding. Tszyu continued to pour the offense on across the last three rounds, wobbling Nurja in the final ten seconds.

After 10 rounds, Tszyu won the shutout decision with the score of 100-88 in the eyes of all three judges before turning his attention to future action in the ring.

“I feel like I’m up for Errol Spence Jr,” said Tszyu. “I think that would be one hell of a fight. That’s a banger. I don’t take a backward step. If he’s ready to meet me there, bring it on. I’m coming to catch the big fish. Let’s go fishing.”

Sam Goodman outpoints Rodrigo Ruiz

In the co-main event, top super bantamweight contenders went toe-to-toe as Australia’s Sam Goodman (22-1, 8 KOs) took home a unanimous decision victory over Argentina’s Rodrigo Ruiz (23-2, 17 KOs) in a 12-round IBF 122-pound title eliminator.

A former world title challenger, the hometown favorite Goodman was buoyed on by the crowd as he showed off his versatile game against the rugged, come forward style of Ruiz. Goodman was especially effective landing power shots, connecting on over 51% while out landing Ruiz overall 225 to 157.

Ruiz found success with left hands, especially early in the bout, but Goodman was able to adjust and stay out of danger, while consistently working in pot shots with the right hand. In the end, all three judges saw the bout in Goodman’s favor, with scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 115-113.

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Action also saw Rugby star turned heavyweight brawler Nelson Asofa Solomona (2-0, 2 KOs) defeat Jarrod Wallace (0-1) by third-round stoppage in their heavyweight slugfest. While Wallace had some success landing right hands across the first two rounds, Solomona found a home for a sharp right hand in round three that sent Wallace down, before following up with a second knockdown that ended the fight 1:03 into the frame.

The lineup also included 2024 Australian Olympian Callum Peters (6-0, 6 KOs) taking down the previously unbeaten Delio Mouzinho (4-1, 4 KOs) in the second round of their fast-paced middleweight clash.

Peters and Mouzinho wasted no time going toe-to-toe, with Peters getting the best of the all-out brawl before punctuating the round with a series of thudding shots that put Mouzinho down. While his opponent was able to rise to his feet, Peters went right back to work early in round two, eventually connecting on a blistering straight right that dropped Mouzinho again and forced the stoppage 57 seconds into the round.

Opening the Prime Video card, rising Australian Olympian Paulo Aokuso (10-0, 5 KOs) earned a first-round knockout over Thai contender Kittipong Jian Hao Ho (13-2-1,12 KOs after his opponent appeared to injure his knee in the opening seconds of the fight, before eventually being stopped 2:20 into the round.

The undefeated light heavyweight Aokuso took advantage of his injured opponent, eventually finding the opening to drop him with just over a minute left in the round. The 28-year-old Aokuso  followed up aggressively, quickly scoring a second knockdown that led to the stoppage being called by his opponent’s corner.

For a closer look at Tszyu vs Nurja, check out our fight night page.