Jeff Horn ran out of gas by the end of the second round against Tim Tszyu last Wednesday.
Jeff Horn ran out of gas by the end of the second round against Tim Tszyu last Wednesday in Australia.
That’s the word from longtime cornerman Stephen Edwards, who could only watch as Horn took a beating, went down twice and struggled to survive eight rounds before the one-sided fight was finally stopped.
Horn evidently was not as fit as one would’ve expected him to be.
“By the end of the second round I thought Jeff was gassed,” Edwards told The Sunday Telegraph. “He got by on pure heart from that point.
“From round five onwards there were some robust discussions in our corner about where the fight was heading.”
Glenn Rushton, Horn’s trainer, has been criticized for pushing Horn to come out for the ninth round. Others in the corner – including Edwards – told the referee to stop the fight. He complied.
“Jeff had taken a lot of punishment,” Edwards said. “His legs were gone, his power was gone, his speed was gone and he had no petrol left. We were way behind on the scorecards.
“Because I care so much about Jeff I couldn’t allow him to go back out. Jeff’s a warrior and if he’d had something left he’d have told us to let him go on.”
Jeff Horn ran out of gas by the end of the second round against Tim Tszyu last Wednesday.
Jeff Horn ran out of gas by the end of the second round against Tim Tszyu last Wednesday in Australia.
That’s the word from longtime cornerman Stephen Edwards, who could only watch as Horn took a beating, went down twice and struggled to survive eight rounds before the one-sided fight was finally stopped.
Horn evidently was not as fit as one would’ve expected him to be.
“By the end of the second round I thought Jeff was gassed,” Edwards told The Sunday Telegraph. “He got by on pure heart from that point.
“From round five onwards there were some robust discussions in our corner about where the fight was heading.”
Glenn Rushton, Horn’s trainer, has been criticized for pushing Horn to come out for the ninth round. Others in the corner – including Edwards – told the referee to stop the fight. He complied.
“Jeff had taken a lot of punishment,” Edwards said. “His legs were gone, his power was gone, his speed was gone and he had no petrol left. We were way behind on the scorecards.
“Because I care so much about Jeff I couldn’t allow him to go back out. Jeff’s a warrior and if he’d had something left he’d have told us to let him go on.”
Viktor Postol gave an inspiring performance in defeat against Jose Ramirez on Saturday in Las Vegas.
A critical look at the past week in boxing.
GOOD
Viktor Postol (right) made a strong impression in defeat against Jose Ramirez on Saturday night. Mikey Williams / Top Rank
The sight of an aging former champion giving a hot young star all he can handle is always inspiring.
That’s what Viktor Postol did against junior welterweight titleholder Jose Ramirez on Saturday in Las Vegas. He boxed beautifully, moved well, was tough when he had to be and nearly pulled off one of the bigger upsets in recent years.
The fact he came up short – losing a majority decision – had to be frustrating for the 36-year-old Ukrainian, who knows such opportunities are precious. However, he left the ring with the admiration of everyone who witnessed his effort.
In fact, his performance probably changed the perception of him to some degree. He has been seen as a good fighter but not quite at the level of such stars as Terence Crawford and Josh Taylor, both of whom defeated him by unanimous decisions.
On Saturday, he fought on even terms with that-level opponent. One judge and Boxing Junkie scored the fight 114-114. That’s a significant accomplishment, perhaps along the lines of Nonito Donaire’s strong performance against Naoya Inoue last year.
That has to provide Postol some gratification. After all, he did something special. That’s precious, too.
Ramirez?
He might be excused for a flat performance. He hadn’t fought in 13 months. The fight was postponed twice because of COVID-19 before it finally happened, meaning Ramirez and Postol had to endure three camps. He also cited personal problems.
And, in the end, he had his hand raised. No one said every fight was going to be easy.
Still, Ramirez didn’t look like a pound-for-pound fighter, which is the image of him that will stick for a while. Of course, you’re only as good as your last fight. His performance on Saturday will be forgotten if he fights and beats Taylor for all the 140-pound titles.
BAD
Could contender Oleksandr Usyk ultimately stand in the way of heavyweight title-unification fight. Scott Heavey / Getty Images
First, Dillian Whyte. Now Oleksandr Usyk?
Whyte entered his fight against Alexander Povetkin as the longstanding mandatory challenger to the WBC heavyweight title, held by Tyson Fury. Had he beaten Povetkin, the Fury-Deontay Wilder winner might’ve been forced to defend against Whyte or risk being stripped of the belt.
Thank goodness Povetkin won, which seemed to open the door to a fight between the winners of Fury-Wilder and Anthony Joshua-Kubrat Pulev for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
Now promoter Eddie Hearn is suggesting that Oleksandr Usyk could stand in the way of a title-unification fight. The former undisputed cruiserweight champion reportedly will become the WBO’s mandatory challenger to Joshua’s title if Usyk beats Derek Chisora this fall.
That, Hearn said, could put Joshua – if he beats Pulev – in a position where he must choose between the WBO belt and a fight with Fury or Wilder. So, if Hearn is right, we could be back where we were with Whyte.
What the hell is going on here?
I understand the purpose of mandatory challengers. In theory, the system forces titleholders to defend against the best possible opponents. However, you and I know better. Many times, fighters are maneuvered into the top position because it benefits greedy sanctioning bodies. And only occasionally does the system produce fights fans want to see most.
Are the alphabet organizations really going to be allowed to stand in the way of a fight that will produce an undisputed heavyweight champion, which is good for sport? Let’s hope not.
WORSE
Tim Tszyu (right) dominated Jeff Horn on Wednesday in Australia. Ian Hitchcock / Getty Images
Tim Tszyu’s breakthrough performance against Jeff Horn on Wednesday in Australia could’ve landed in the “good” category in this column. Instead, the actions of Jeff Horn’s trainer stole the focus.
The talented son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu was brilliant in his demolition of the former welterweight titleholder, who survived only eight of a scheduled 10 rounds. We might be witnessing the rise of a true star down under.
Of course, Tszyu was celebrated afterward. However, a conversation between Horn and trainer Glenn Rushton at the end of the fight dominated much of the conversation even days after the fact.
Horn was exhausted, beaten, unable to defend himself adequately, utterly spent as he sat on his stool after the eighth round. And everyone watching knew it – except Rushton, apparently.
The trainer asked Horn whether he had one more minute in him, one more punch, the hope being that he could produce a miracle. That’s not Rushton’s job. His most important function is to determine whether his fighter is in danger of serious injury and save him from it.
In the end, it was another cornerman who told the referee to stop the fight and Horn remained on his stool.
Some observers have called for the revocation of Rushton’s license to work corners. That might be over the top. However, it’s particularly difficult to defend him when he refused to admit afterward that he had done anything wrong.
The fact is he did. He was willing to place his fighter in undue danger to give him a minuscule chance winning. Once again: We need to do a better job of protecting the fighters.
Viktor Postol gave an inspiring performance in defeat against Jose Ramirez on Saturday in Las Vegas.
A critical look at the past week in boxing.
GOOD
Viktor Postol (right) made a strong impression in defeat against Jose Ramirez on Saturday night. Mikey Williams / Top Rank
The sight of an aging former champion giving a hot young star all he can handle is always inspiring.
That’s what Viktor Postol did against junior welterweight titleholder Jose Ramirez on Saturday in Las Vegas. He boxed beautifully, moved well, was tough when he had to be and nearly pulled off one of the bigger upsets in recent years.
The fact he came up short – losing a majority decision – had to be frustrating for the 36-year-old Ukrainian, who knows such opportunities are precious. However, he left the ring with the admiration of everyone who witnessed his effort.
In fact, his performance probably changed the perception of him to some degree. He has been seen as a good fighter but not quite at the level of such stars as Terence Crawford and Josh Taylor, both of whom defeated him by unanimous decisions.
On Saturday, he fought on even terms with that-level opponent. One judge and Boxing Junkie scored the fight 114-114. That’s a significant accomplishment, perhaps along the lines of Nonito Donaire’s strong performance against Naoya Inoue last year.
That has to provide Postol some gratification. After all, he did something special. That’s precious, too.
Ramirez?
He might be excused for a flat performance. He hadn’t fought in 13 months. The fight was postponed twice because of COVID-19 before it finally happened, meaning Ramirez and Postol had to endure three camps. He also cited personal problems.
And, in the end, he had his hand raised. No one said every fight was going to be easy.
Still, Ramirez didn’t look like a pound-for-pound fighter, which is the image of him that will stick for a while. Of course, you’re only as good as your last fight. His performance on Saturday will be forgotten if he fights and beats Taylor for all the 140-pound titles.
BAD
Could contender Oleksandr Usyk ultimately stand in the way of heavyweight title-unification fight. Scott Heavey / Getty Images
First, Dillian Whyte. Now Oleksandr Usyk?
Whyte entered his fight against Alexander Povetkin as the longstanding mandatory challenger to the WBC heavyweight title, held by Tyson Fury. Had he beaten Povetkin, the Fury-Deontay Wilder winner might’ve been forced to defend against Whyte or risk being stripped of the belt.
Thank goodness Povetkin won, which seemed to open the door to a fight between the winners of Fury-Wilder and Anthony Joshua-Kubrat Pulev for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
Now promoter Eddie Hearn is suggesting that Oleksandr Usyk could stand in the way of a title-unification fight. The former undisputed cruiserweight champion reportedly will become the WBO’s mandatory challenger to Joshua’s title if Usyk beats Derek Chisora this fall.
That, Hearn said, could put Joshua – if he beats Pulev – in a position where he must choose between the WBO belt and a fight with Fury or Wilder. So, if Hearn is right, we could be back where we were with Whyte.
What the hell is going on here?
I understand the purpose of mandatory challengers. In theory, the system forces titleholders to defend against the best possible opponents. However, you and I know better. Many times, fighters are maneuvered into the top position because it benefits greedy sanctioning bodies. And only occasionally does the system produce fights fans want to see most.
Are the alphabet organizations really going to be allowed to stand in the way of a fight that will produce an undisputed heavyweight champion, which is good for sport? Let’s hope not.
WORSE
Tim Tszyu (right) dominated Jeff Horn on Wednesday in Australia. Ian Hitchcock / Getty Images
Tim Tszyu’s breakthrough performance against Jeff Horn on Wednesday in Australia could’ve landed in the “good” category in this column. Instead, the actions of Jeff Horn’s trainer stole the focus.
The talented son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu was brilliant in his demolition of the former welterweight titleholder, who survived only eight of a scheduled 10 rounds. We might be witnessing the rise of a true star down under.
Of course, Tszyu was celebrated afterward. However, a conversation between Horn and trainer Glenn Rushton at the end of the fight dominated much of the conversation even days after the fact.
Horn was exhausted, beaten, unable to defend himself adequately, utterly spent as he sat on his stool after the eighth round. And everyone watching knew it – except Rushton, apparently.
The trainer asked Horn whether he had one more minute in him, one more punch, the hope being that he could produce a miracle. That’s not Rushton’s job. His most important function is to determine whether his fighter is in danger of serious injury and save him from it.
In the end, it was another cornerman who told the referee to stop the fight and Horn remained on his stool.
Some observers have called for the revocation of Rushton’s license to work corners. That might be over the top. However, it’s particularly difficult to defend him when he refused to admit afterward that he had done anything wrong.
The fact is he did. He was willing to place his fighter in undue danger to give him a minuscule chance winning. Once again: We need to do a better job of protecting the fighters.
In this version of Degrees of Separation, Boxing Junkie linked Kostya and Tim Tszyu in only four steps.
Six degrees of separation is a theory that everyone in the world is separated by no more than six social connections.
In other words, you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Queen Elizabeth. Or so the concept goes.
We’re borrowing the six degrees concept – well, sort of loosely – to connect fighters from the past to their more contemporary counterparts in our new occasional feature, “Degrees of Separation.”
Example: Let’s connect Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Super easy; we did it in two steps. Senior fought Grover Wiley, who fought Junior.
In this installment of the Boxing Junkie feature, we decided to link another father and son — Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu and Tim Tszyu, who took a big step in his career by stopping former welterweight titleholder Jeff Horn on Saturday in Australia.
How many steps did it take? Only four even though the elder Tszyu hasn’t fought since 2005.
Check it out:
Kostya Tszyu fought …
Ricky Hatton, who fought …
Manny Pacquiao, who fought …
Jeff Horn, who fought …
Tim Tszyu
Could you do it in fewer steps? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook. Or you can contact me on Twitter. And please follow us!
In this version of Degrees of Separation, Boxing Junkie linked Kostya and Tim Tszyu in only four steps.
Six degrees of separation is a theory that everyone in the world is separated by no more than six social connections.
In other words, you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Queen Elizabeth. Or so the concept goes.
We’re borrowing the six degrees concept – well, sort of loosely – to connect fighters from the past to their more contemporary counterparts in our new occasional feature, “Degrees of Separation.”
Example: Let’s connect Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Super easy; we did it in two steps. Senior fought Grover Wiley, who fought Junior.
In this installment of the Boxing Junkie feature, we decided to link another father and son — Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu and Tim Tszyu, who took a big step in his career by stopping former welterweight titleholder Jeff Horn on Saturday in Australia.
How many steps did it take? Only four even though the elder Tszyu hasn’t fought since 2005.
Check it out:
Kostya Tszyu fought …
Ricky Hatton, who fought …
Manny Pacquiao, who fought …
Jeff Horn, who fought …
Tim Tszyu
Could you do it in fewer steps? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook. Or you can contact me on Twitter. And please follow us!
Tim Tszyu dominated former welterweight titleholder Jeff Horn before stopping him after eight rounds Wednesday in Townsville, Queensland.
Australia has a new young boxing star.
Tim Tszyu, the son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, dominated former welterweight titleholder Jeff Horn from beginning to end, put him down twice and stopped him after eight rounds of a scheduled 10-round junior middleweight bout Wednesday in Townsville, Queensland.
Tszyu (16-0, 12 KOs) was better than Horn (20-3-1, 13 KOs) in every respect, outboxing him and also outslugging a veteran opponent known for his toughness.
The 25-year-old Sydney native landed precise, hard punches throughout – hurting Horn multiple times — and handled everything Horn delivered in return, including his rough tactics.
Tim Tszyu celebrates with his team after beating Jeff Horn on Wednesday in Australia. Ian Hitchcock / Getty Images
Horn, beaten up and with no hope of winning, stayed on his stool after the eighth round.
Tszyu, ranked in the Top 15 of three of the four major sanctioning bodies, is now in better position to challenge for a world title. Kostya Tszyu won four junior welterweight belts.
Horn is now 2-3 in his last five fights, with losses to Terence Crawford (which cost him the title he took from Manny Pacquiao), Michael Zerafa and now Tszyu.
Tim Tszyu dominated former welterweight titleholder Jeff Horn before stopping him after eight rounds Wednesday in Townsville, Queensland.
Australia has a new young boxing star.
Tim Tszyu, the son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, dominated former welterweight titleholder Jeff Horn from beginning to end, put him down twice and stopped him after eight rounds of a scheduled 10-round junior middleweight bout Wednesday in Townsville, Queensland.
Tszyu (16-0, 12 KOs) was better than Horn (20-3-1, 13 KOs) in every respect, outboxing him and also outslugging a veteran opponent known for his toughness.
The 25-year-old Sydney native landed precise, hard punches throughout – hurting Horn multiple times — and handled everything Horn delivered in return, including his rough tactics.
Tim Tszyu celebrates with his team after beating Jeff Horn on Wednesday in Australia. Ian Hitchcock / Getty Images
Horn, beaten up and with no hope of winning, stayed on his stool after the eighth round.
Tszyu, ranked in the Top 15 of three of the four major sanctioning bodies, is now in better position to challenge for a world title. Kostya Tszyu won four junior welterweight belts.
Horn is now 2-3 in his last five fights, with losses to Terence Crawford (which cost him the title he took from Manny Pacquiao), Michael Zerafa and now Tszyu.
Junior middleweights Jeff Horn and Tim Tszyu have agreed to face each other in an April showdown.
Australia has its next blockbuster fight.
Junior middleweights Jeff Horn and Tim Tszyu have agreed on terms to face one another in April, although they haven’t settled upon a specific date. The news was first reported by The Daily Telegraph.
The location has not yet been determined, but Brisbane is thought to the front runner to land the fight. Sydney is also a possibility. Negotiations were contentious but the two sides eventually agreed to a 60-40 financial split that favors the 31-year-old Horn, who has been the de facto face of Australian boxing for the past few years.
Horn-Tszyu will be the biggest fight in Australia since Horn challenged Filipino star Manny Pacquiao in 2017. Horn won that bout controversially to become the WBO welterweight titleholder. He then lost his title to Terence Crawford in 2018. Since then, Horn drubbed countryman Anthony Mundine in one round and then engaged Michael Zerafa in a wild two-fight series.
Horn (20-2-1, 13 KOs) was stopped by Zerafa in nine rounds last August but turned the tables four months later, outpointing Zerafa in a barnburner that saw both fighters sustain hellacious punishment. Horn dropped Zerafa twice but was also out on his feet at one point.
The 25-year-old Tszyu (15-0, 11 KOs), son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, will be taking a considerable step up in competition. He has faced middling opposition since turning pro in 2016. He fought four times last year, including a decision over Dwight Ritchie, who subsequently died as a result of injuries suffered during a sparring session.
“This is what I was born for,” Tszyu told Fox Sports. “I’ve been fighting my whole life for this particular moment. I want to test him. I know I can [dig deep]. Yes, he’s fought some of the greats, but I believe I can bring him into those trenches and test him in a way he’s already been tested, and in a way he won’t be able to survive.”
