On to bigger and better things.
Tim Tszyu put late replacement Steve Spark down twice with body blows, the second of which ended the 154-pound fight at 2:22 of Round 3 Wednesday in Newcastle, Australia.
Spark’s mission was virtually impossible, as he normally fights at 140 pounds and took the fight only a week beforehand after Michael Zerafa pulled out.
And that’s how it played out.
Spark (12-2, 11 KOs) had some good moments in the first round, which left Tszyu (19-0, 15 KOs) with a puffy right cheek. However, Australia’s top fighter soon found a groove and began to hurt his overmatched opponent.
He hurt Spark with a variety of shots near the end of Round 2 and then picked up where he left off in Round 3, when the body blows put Tszyu’s countryman down two times.
Referee Brad Vocale didn’t bother to count after the second knockdown, as it was clear that a severely injured Spark couldn’t continue.
“I had fun in there, that’s the main thing,” Tszyu said. “For myself, I have one objective: take whoever out that’s in front of me. But this is my ring and this is my division. I’m here to stay.”
The son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu evidentially has no interest in fighting Zerafa, who pulled out of the fight over COVID-19 concerns.
He now is targeting the best in the division, including the winner of the July 17 Jermall Charlo-Brian Castano fight for the undisputed 154-pound championship at some point.
In the meantime, he has a list of well-known prospective opponents who he’d like to meet.
“There’s Liam Smith, [Magomed] Kurbanov and Danny Garcia — they’re the three boys I’m going for,” Tszyu said. “If you’re watching boys, I’m coming for you.”
