Nikita Tszyu ignores nerves, impresses in professional debut

All the pressure was on Nikita ‘The Butcher’ Tszyu when he made his professional debut at Nissan Arena in Brisbane, Australia on Thursday night.

Facing Arron Stahl 2-1-1 (1) at junior middleweight over six rounds in the headline fight on a nationally televised card, you could forgive the 24-year-old for being nervous.

But the son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu showed little anxiety as he steadily broke down Townsville’s Stahl in two round.

The Sydney southpaw got to work early, clipping Stahl with a punch that saw his left glove touch the canvas. Referee Paul Tapley didn’t recognize it as a knockdown.

In the second round a flurry of hard shots to the head sunk Stahl to the canvas. Stahl beat the count but Tszyu didn’t let him off the hook. He rushed in to land a right hook that dropped Stahl again and forced Tapley to wave off the fight.

"I didn’t expect it to be like this, it was kind of shocking at first but once I got a little more comfortable I started to enjoy myself," said Tszyu 1-0 (1).

"The adrenaline was just pumping through my veins. There were a bit of nerves, I just felt like I was in a different environment, I’ve never been in something like this.

"It didn’t go fully as to plan, you can never expect what happens in a fight. There were moments that worked, moments that didn’t worked, and it was a valuable experience."

Tszyu’s brother Tim, who will face Terrell Gausha in the United States on March 26, was in the corner for his younger sibling’s fight.

“There were little mistakes, but look what he did – flawless,” Tim said.

Jeff Fenech, who was part of the broadcast team, was full of praise for Tszyu.

“This kid’s going to get better and better,” Fenech said. “Every time he has a fight, he’ll improve. It’s exactly what his brother Tim did, he’ll improve.

"He’s got a different attitude but he’s got one thing that’s exactly the same – he can fight."

In the main support bout former world title challenger Dennis ‘Hurricane’ Hogan 30-4-1 (7) was a bit too clever for southpaw Wade ‘The Gunnedah Gunslinger’ Ryan 20-10 (7) winning their 12-round junior middleweight bout by scores of 120-108, 117-110 and 116-111.

Liam Wilson 10-1 (7) got his revenge on WBO number six ranked super featherweight Joe Noynay 19-3-2 (8) with a savage second-round knockout.

Southpaw Noynay – who came in at almost 139-pounds for the 130-pound contest – was sent crashing to the deck by a left hook. The punch was as perfectly timed as it was brutal.

The Filipino’s corner threw in the towel and referee Tony Kettlewell crowned the Queenslander at the 2:50 mark.

Wilson, 25, was looking to avenge his fifth-round knockout loss to Noynay in an immediate rematch.

“For eight months I’ve been thinking about this guy, more than my kids, and it was very draining,” Wilson said.

“I couldn’t wait to get in here tonight and get rid of him out of my life.”

Junior welterweight Stevie ‘The Viking’ Spark 13-2 (12) stopped River Daz 3-1-1 (1) in six one-sided frames. The bout was scheduled for eight.

Junior middleweight Danilo Creati 7-0 (1) outpointed former London 2012 Olympian Cameron Hammond 18-2 (9) by scores of 79-71, 78-73 and 79-71. Hammond was having his first fight in more than three years.

At super flyweight Linn Sandstrom 2-2-1 to a six-round points decision over Ali Jensen 0-3.