Aussie boxing star Nikita Tszyu ended his year-long hiatus from professional boxing in sensational fashion, blowing away Macedonian fighter Lulzim Ismaili with a devastating first-round victory.
After the fight, an overjoyed Tszyu celebrated with fans and his family, having now extended his record to 11-0.
While much of the post-match talk revolved around who he could face next, with Michael Zerafa and Brock Jarvis also claiming dominant victories on Wednesday evening at the ICC Exhibition Centre in Sydney, Tszyu notably opened up on the bizarre thing he asked a midwife to do while his daughter, Curiosity, was being born.
The 27-year-old and his partner, Nikita Bedwell, welcomed their first child into the world in June, and the Aussie fighter, who recently revealed that he had been eating his wife’s placenta as a nutritional supplement, was asked whether he had a message for Curiosity after his sensational victory by Main Event’s Ben Damon.
Tszyu, who had walked out to ACDC’s Thunderstruck blaring over the speakers, paused for a moment before leaving the audience perplexed.
‘Thunderstruck is the song she came out to as we were having her,’ he said.
Nikita Tszyu (pictured) claimed an epic first-round victory against Lulzim Ismaili on Wednesday night
The Australian (top, centre) returned to the ring with a bang, knocking down Ismaili a minute into the fight before his opponent withdrew
The Aussie revealed last week that he had given up a career in architecture because it wasn’t fulfilling, admitting he wanted to get back into boxing
Damon cut a quizzical look before saying: ‘Huh?’
‘You heard it right!’ Tszyu continued.
‘As we were having a C-section, I got one of the nurses to play it,’ the Aussie fighter, who is the son of former world champion Kostya Tszyu and the brother of boxing superstar Tim Tszyu.
‘As she was coming out it was going: “Dun, dun!”‘
‘As the song has a very special place in my heart, I closed my eyes [during the ring walk] and was just thinking about Curiosity. I was seeing her naked body being pulled out.’
Any doubts that Tszyu could exhibit some rustiness on his return to the ring were very quickly extinguished after he advanced into the middle of the ring and began to unload on Ismaili.
The Australian sent his opponent crashing to the canvas a minute into the first round with a brutal left hand, with Ismaili returning to his feet before being tested again by the relentless Tszyu.
Michael Zerafa (left) also claimed a huge victory against American Mike Dahlman (right)
Brock Jarvis (right) also produced a dominant display to defeat Sam Beck (left) earlier in the night
After the bell sounded at the end of the first round, Ismaili returned to his corner but would retire on his stool, following Tszyu’s brutal barrage of punches.
He also appeared to put to bed any concerns over his left hand. The Butcher had undergone surgery to rectify an injury in his hand that had been bugging him for some time. Complications over that injury had been some cause for concern too.
‘It’s not busted up,’ he added. ‘So a great success!’
‘It wasn’t a concern. But it would’ve been annoying if it flared up again… but it didn’t.’
On the undercard, Jarvis, who has recently reunited with his old coach Jeff Fenech, claimed a fourth-round stoppage over his opponent Sam Beck. He and Fenech notably embraced in the middle of the ring, having seemingly set aside their differences over the past year.
Meanwhile, Zerafa stepped into the ring and brutally dispatched American Mike Dahlman inside two minutes, to win the WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title, with a technical knock-out.
Either one could face off against Tszyu in his next fight, with Zerafa admitting while he had a lot of respect for Tszyu, he added: ‘I believe I beat Nikita,’ should the pair step into the ring.
Tszyu, this week, has admitted he would love to take his next fight internationally and fight in Las Vegas when the NRL returns to Sin City for its opening round in 2026.
Tszyu, this week, has admitted he would love to take his next fight internationally and fight in Las Vegas when the NRL returns to Sin City for its opening round in 2026.
However, he was staying coy over who he could fight next.
‘Line them up,’ he stated.
‘I don’t care. Whoever.’
‘I’m back. After a year, I’m back,’ he added.
