Every bout seems to be a breakthrough performance for Tim Tszyu and tonight proved no different as the 26-year-old ran through Dennis Hogan in Newcastle.
Tszyu overcame a cut over his left eye, deemed to have come from a head collision, early in the fight to wear down his Queensland-based opponent. Despite the cut, Tszyu stayed calm, composed, and walked through whatever Hogan had.
Hogan was landing his own early but by the third round, Tszyu had taken control and the body-rips had his opponent in trouble late in the round. With a vocal Newcastle crowd that was chanting ‘Tszyu-castle’, Tszyu kept that pace in the fourth, mixing it up with shots to the body before changing levels and going high.
In the 5th round, Tszyu marvelously slipped a jab and hit an uppercut that sent Hogan’s head backward as Hogan went down for a count. Hogan beat the count but the barrage continued with Hogan’s corner stepping in to halt the contest.
The official time was 2:29 into the 5th round as Tszyu takes his professional record to 18-0.
It was quite the state from Tszyu who is the WBO number one challenger as he stakes his claim for a title shot.
“This is not tic-tac. We are not ballerinas here, dancing around. We are punching each other and I’m going to do some serious damage and hurt to my opponents. Full respect to them outside the ring but look, in the ring, this is my kingdom and this is where I take control,” Tszyu told the crowd in his post-fight speech.
Asked if he could see Hogan wilt as a result of the body shots
“I could see it from round two. I was warming up only. I could go another seven more rounds of this pace and even more. It’s sink or swim and that’s what I like to do. I like to get my opponents in deep water and let them swim….. or sink.”
Asked on the crowd, Tszyu finished with.
“We have to come back again.”
Full Results:
- Tim Tszyu def. Dennis Hogan via TKO, Rd 5
- Wade Ryan def. Koen Mazoudier via TKO, Rd 10
- Paul Fleming def. Tyson Sentry via TKO, Rd 7
- Sakio Bika def. Sam Soliman via Decision (Unanimous)
- Darkon Dryden def. Jason Medawar via TKO, Rd 2
- Jason Fawcett def. Alex Carioti via Decision (Unanimous)
- Linn Sandstrom def. Felicity Loiterton via Decision (Unanimous)
