Victoria’s Kris Terzievki secured the biggest win of his career as he outboxed a frustrated Paul Gallen in the main event of the No Limits Boxing card in Newcastle on Wednesday night, however, he was made to work for it in the later rounds.
Terzievski controlled the distance and was able to utilise his reach to keep Gallen away as the former NRL star failed to get inside early in the bout
The taller Terzievski had a point deducted in the seventh round, for continuous pushing – something the referee had warned him about in the earlier rounds. Both were digging deep to find a second wind with Gallen looking for the knock-out shot as Terzievski continued to attack the body.
In the penultimate round, Gallen took it to his opponent and unloaded with a barrage of hooks, looking to stop Terzievski. At the end of the round, Terzievski fell to his corner stool but somehow managed to find the extra bit of energy to see out the last round.
View this post on Instagram
The judges unanimously awarded the contest to Terzievski, 97-92 across the board as he captured the Australasian and Australian heavyweight titles.
“I said it in the lead-up, that Gallen was going to test me to my limits, and that is exactly what he did. What a warrior,” he said in his post-fight ring interview.
I just had to be disciplined. I watched Bivol fight on the weekend. Some say it was boring. For the first seven rounds, I thought it was entertaining as. I looked like a heavyweight Usyk in there. I was cutting angles, pumping a good jab but his constant pressure. We had four weeks to prepare for this fight. I am even more proud for having the legs to carry me for 10 rounds.”
Asked if he sees a fight against the winner of Justin Huni and Joseph Goodall next, Terzievski replied that if something lucrative came up, he would take it but sees his future in the Bridgerweight division.
The 32-year-old moves to 11-1, 1 draw while Gallen drops to 12-2, 1 draw.
“There is an old saying that age is undefeated, and it probably caught up with me a little bit. What can I do? Everyone grows old, don’t they,” before confirming he wouldn’t be making any future decisions immediately.
In the co-main event, Mason Smith came out strong against Nikita Tszyu who had the crowd on his side with both his father Kostya Tszyu and older brother Tim Tszyu. Smith momentarily caught Nikita off guard but Tszyu immediately returned fire and his power shined through, dropping Smith with a hard right uppercut. A stunned Smith continued but Tszyu gained confidence from that as the two went toe-to-toe. Tszyu landed the better punches and the referee had seen enough to stop the contest before the end of the first round.
View this post on Instagram
It’s the blood that gets to me,” he commented post-fight
“That’s what I love, seeing that blood, that bloody nose. The joy I felt from that,” he added before giving himself a 6 and a half out of 10.
His brother Tim Tszyu was much more complimentary, giving Nikita a perfect 10.
Nikita Tszyu moves to 2-0 as a professional while Smith drops to 5-1.
Harry Garside overcame an injured hand to stop Layton McFerran in the 7th round. The Olympic bronze medallist controlled the bout and never looked in serious danger. The damage started to add up and with his opponent taking too many punches, the referee stepped in to stop the contest in the seventh round.
Garside admitted post-fight that he will be taking time off to allow his hand to heal, something that he has been dealing with before the Olympics.
- Kris Terzievski def. Paul Gallen via Decision (Unanimous – 97-92, 97-92, 97-92)
- Nikita Tszyu def. Mason Smith via TKO, Rd 1, 2:41
- Harry Garside def. Layton McFerran via TKO, Rd 7
- Sam Goodman def. Fumiya Fuse via Decision (Unanimous)
- Hassan Hamdan def. Trent Girdham via Decision (Unanimous)
- Sara Jalonen def. Amber Amelia via Decision (Split)
- Hironori Mishiro def. Francis Chua via Decision (Split)
- Linn Sandstrom def. Floryvic Montero via Decision (Majority)
