SYDNEY -- Tim Tszyu's boxing career once again has a pulse after the former WBO junior-middleweight world champion returned to the winners' list on Wednesday evening with a dominant unanimous victory over the previously unbeaten Anthony Velazquez.
Throughout fight week, Tszyu had reiterated he is a vastly different boxer to the one that had crashed down the rankings over the past 20 months off the back of a pair of losses to Sebastian Fundora and the most shocking upset defeat at the hands of little known Bakhram Murtazaliev. His confident claims proved accurate against Velazquez at TikTok Entertainment Centre.
Tszyu (26-3, 18 KOs), the son of Hall of Famer Kostya, appeared sharper, stronger, and showed no sign of the tentativeness that had brought him unstuck in recent fights. He used his jab and uppercut to meticulously cut through the American's defences and was able to inflict damage to his opponent's body and head with a series of calculated high-low combination attacks as he won every round in his maiden appearance under new coach Pedro Diaz to take a much needed first step towards rebuilding his boxing image.
"I'm back. I'm f---ing back," said Tszyu, moments after the judges' score cards were revealed. "I just wanted to feel comfortable in there. I wanted to get in the ring, not try go for the KO and get reckless. I wanted to take my time and use my jab. I have all the skills in the world, I just need to apply them.
"I had a game opponent today ... he came out swinging until the very end. He's got pop, so I didn't want to come in and cop one. But a scorecard of 10 rounds ... I'm pretty happy with that."
Former NABF champion Velazquez (18-1-1, 15 KOs) came into the fight in a rich vein of form, having scored three wins in the space of five months. However, it was evident early that Tszyu was a fighter a class above what Velazquez had been accustomed to battling. He wore punch after punch and dealt with a nasty cut under his right eye, but bravely fought on until the end to deny Tszyu the stoppage he was craving.
The much needed victory for Tszyu will likely open doors in 2026 as he begins to plot his path back to the top. New manager Darcy Ellis confirmed earlier in the week Tszyu could fight "as soon as the first quarter of next year" if he were to be successful over Velazquez.
The co-main event of the evening went the way of Sam Goodman, who accounted for Tyler Blizzard at featherweight to successfully bounce back from his WBA title fight loss to Nick Ball in August. Like Tszyu, Goodman was unable to stop his opponent, but won every round en route to earning a comfortable unanimous decision.
Earlier in the night, Callum Peters took hold of the Australian middleweight title with a sixth-round stoppage of Cody Beekin, while veteran Koen Mazoudier overcame a slow start to earn a majority decision victory over Dominic Molinaro and retain his Australian super welterweight crown.
Sydney's Jason Fawcett kept hold of his WBA Oceania welterweight title with a unanimous victory over Marco Romeo, the man he now famously slapped across the face at Tuesday afternoon's weigh in.
Here's how fight night at TikTok Entertainment Centre unfolded: