In a thrilling domestic battle at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Nikita “The Butcher” Tszyu sealed the deal via referee stoppage after suffering a flash knockdown early to take home the Australian super welterweight title from a lion-hearted Dylan “The Beaudesert Storm” Biggs.
After a short feeling-out process, 21-year-old Dylan Biggs landed a strong straight hand to sit Tszyu down in the opening round. Nikita recovered well from the flash knockdown, and closed out the round with a statement of his own, rocking the champion.
The momentum continued for 25-year-old Nikita as round two rolled on, finding the target with some heavy shots that were worn well by Biggs.
The third round saw some impressive back-and-forth action from the two, with both fighters showcasing clean inside work and mixing their levels.
In the fourth though, Nikita came out on a tear, opening up with a brutal barrage towards the middle of the round which left Biggs barely able to tough out the closing seconds.
Despite a strong pep talk from the champion’s corner, the fifth round would spell the end for Biggs.
Nikita came out full swing, landing a thudding punch on the champion’s temple before a brutal liver shot sent Biggs grimacing to the canvas. The Beaudesert youngster demonstrated grit befitting a champion in making the count, but after some further punishment, the referee waved off the fight before the towel was thrown.
Nikita was ecstatic to carry the Australian title home to the most accomplished boxing family in the nation’s history.
Tszyu told a rapturous audience, “It’s a beautiful feeling, I’ve been envisioning this moment… as soon as I started boxing, [Biggs] was standing there as a wall to climb over… it feels good to be able to jump over that…”
Nikita’s older brother and WBO light-middleweight champion Tim Tszyu took to the ring in the post-fight interview, revealing that the freshly minted lightweight champion had his sights set on fighting in Las Vegas on March 2 alongside Tim.
With another notch on the belt of the youngest fighting Tszyu, the hard-hitting Nikita is one step further in carving out his own legacy against the backdrop of his family’s accomplishments.
