Tszyu drops Nurja and wins all ten rounds to move back into position at 154 pounds
Tim Tszyu dominated Denis Nurja over ten rounds to secure a unanimous decision in Wollongong. The win keeps Tszyu moving toward a world title fight at super welterweight after a one-sided performance.
Tszyu set the pace early, stepping in behind his jab and straight right hand to keep Nurja backing up. He worked the body and let combinations go, forcing Nurja to react rather than set his feet. A clash of heads opened a cut under Tszyu’s left eye in the fourth, but he answered immediately, dropping Nurja with a left hook that separated the fight on the cards.
Nurja showed toughness and stayed upright, but he struggled to match the workrate. Tszyu continued to land clean, mixing hooks and straight shots, and shook him again with a right hand in the sixth. A point deduction for holding in the seventh widened the gap as Tszyu kept the pressure on.
The final rounds removed any doubt. Tszyu closed the distance, kept his combinations flowing, and controlled the exchanges through sustained offense. All three judges scored it 100-88, reflecting a fight built on pressure, body work, and clean punching.
“He’s tough and I expected that,” Tszyu said. “He came in with the perfect record, so I knew he was no joke. I had him a couple times but he didn’t drop. Those were some good rounds. I was trying to take him out, he’s just tough. Big respect.”
The result places Tszyu back among the leading contenders at 154 pounds, with a potential fight against Errol Spence Jr. already being discussed.
In the co-main event, Sam Goodman outpointed Rodrigo Fabian Ruiz over twelve rounds in an IBF super bantamweight eliminator. Ruiz had early success with the left hand, but Goodman adjusted, worked behind his jab, and began building rounds with cleaner combinations.
As the fight progressed, Goodman kept Ruiz at distance, picked his shots, and pulled ahead with accuracy and workrate. Scores of 118-110, 116-112, and 115-113 reflected a fight that turned clearly in his favor, putting him in line for an IBF title shot at 122 pounds.
Elsewhere on the card, Nelson Asofa-Solomona recorded a third-round stoppage of Jarrod Wallace after two knockdowns, using his size and reach to control the exchanges before finishing the fight. Callum Peters secured a second-round stoppage of Delio Mouzinho, dropping him twice before the referee intervened.
Paulo Aokuso opened the card with a first-round knockout, sending Kittipong Jian Hao Ho down twice to secure the finish.
The night centered on Tszyu’s performance. He set the pace, broke Nurja down, and delivered a clear result that moves him back into the title picture at 154 pounds.