Nikita Tszyu vs Ben Mahoney: A Split Decision Battle
Nikita Tszyu walked into the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre with a world title path laid out in front of him. Beat Ben Mahoney, clear the final hurdle, and the door to IBF champion Josh Kelly and a string of marquee names would swing open.
Twelve savage rounds later, he walked out with his hand raised – but his future clouded, his own conscience telling him a different story to the judges.
A Split Decision and a Split Room
The scorecards said it all and nothing at the same time: 117-111 Tszyu, 115-113 Mahoney, 114-114. A split decision. A roar of disbelief from a parochial Gold Coast crowd who had ridden every Mahoney punch like it was their own.
Tszyu, the world No.5 and heavy favourite, didn’t hide behind the numbers.
“I gave the fight to Ben. He was a tough fight,” he told Main Event’s Ben Damon in the ring. “I gave him maybe 1-2 rounds more. It was a close fight, but I thought he edged it.”
Mahoney agreed. So did most inside the arena.
“I do believe I won that fight,” the Queenslander said. “I thought I came home nice and strong. I believe I took the fight in those (last) two rounds … all respect to Nikita, he’s a f***ing warrior.”
Respect flowed in both directions. The outrage belonged to everyone else.
A War That Earned Its Billing
The eliminator had been sold as an all-action brawl. It delivered.
Mahoney, unbeaten and largely unheralded outside hardcore circles, came out like a man who’d waited a decade for this night. Backed by chants of “Benny, Benny, Benny”, he ripped into Tszyu across the opening two rounds, landing heavy shots and forcing the favourite into uncomfortable exchanges.
Tszyu, targeting the body from the outset, tried to slow the local down. A comic tumble from the referee in the second briefly broke the tension – drawing a grin from Tszyu – but the tone hardened quickly. This was going to be a long, hard night.
A clash of heads in the third changed the feel of the fight. Blood trickled from Tszyu’s eye and kept troubling him, yet he arguably shaded the round with a sharp punch to the face right on the bell. From there, he began to claw back control, working Mahoney’s midsection, grinding away in the pocket.
Still, Mahoney refused to fade. Between rounds, coach Josh Arnold lit a fire under him: four rounds to change his life. Mahoney responded, surging again in the ninth just as a low blow brought a brief pause and a warning from the referee. The Queenslander’s work rate, his willingness to trade, kept the crowd roaring and the judges guessing.
By the eleventh, a slip from Mahoney opened the door for Tszyu to dig in a series of thudding body shots. The favourite looked to close strong, but the underdog wouldn’t go quietly.
“This is for your daughter,” Arnold reminded Mahoney before the final round, as the local tried to whip the arena into one last frenzy. He didn’t get the verdict, yet he walked back to his corner having honoured every word of that message.
‘Two Warriors on the Gold Coast’
When it was over, there was no need to dress it up.
“An all-action brawl, a world title eliminator worth of its position!” Ben Damon called on Main Event. “What a fight we’ve seen. Two warriors on the Gold Coast.”
Danny Green, watching from ringside, had Tszyu marginally ahead but saved his biggest praise for both men.
“Outstanding fight there,” he said. “Ben Mahoney, take a bow … you’re a world class fighter and you proved it once again. Nikita … you’ve conquered that 12 rounds against a world class fighter. The future’s very bright.”
The result, though, left an itch that a single set of scorecards couldn’t scratch.
“I think we need a rematch!” Damon said.
“For me, I’d love to see a rematch,” Green replied. “I think it’s fair for both boxers.”
Fair – and probably necessary. Because while the IBF eliminator was supposed to clear Tszyu’s path, it has instead raised a sharper question: does he charge on towards a world title, or settle unfinished business with the man many believe beat him?
Mazoudier Survives Beck Scare to Keep Charlo Date Alive
Earlier on the card, Koen Mazoudier flirted with disaster but clung on to preserve his own blockbuster opportunity.
The 30-year-old has a lucrative showdown with former two-division world champion Jermall Charlo on the horizon. Taking on dangerous middleweight Sam Beck in the meantime was a gamble. Across ten brutal rounds, it nearly blew up in his face.
The judges gave Mazoudier a majority decision – 95-95, 97-93, 96-94 – after a slugfest that left both men exhausted and the crowd buzzing. Between them they landed 526 punches, with Beck absorbing more than 150 to the body.
“It’s a huge risk for Mazoudier, but it’s an incredible fight. Take a bow!” Damon said. Green called it a “phenomenal performance by both fighters.”
Beck’s early work left Mazoudier marked up. By the third round, the Australian’s eye was swollen. In the sixth, Beck detonated a perfectly timed uppercut and then a heavy left that sent Mazoudier’s mouthguard flying.
“Two of the best punches of the fight,” Green said.
Mazoudier survived, adjusted, and did just enough to edge the cards. He didn’t sugarcoat it.
“Need to be a lot better than that (against Charlo) – that was a poor performance,” he admitted post-fight. “They dogged us – they were supposed to come here. I love the underdog story. Let’s go back to his backyard and take it.”
Charlo awaits. But the warning signs were clear.
Ruston’s First-Round Fury
If Mazoudier had to dig deep, Kirra Ruston barely had time to break a sweat.
The Australian extended his extraordinary run of stoppages with a ruthless first-round TKO over Saundre Simmons, making it ten TKOs in ten fights.
The opening minute was cautious, both men feeling their way into range. Then Ruston saw his opening. A vicious right hook dumped Simmons on the canvas with a minute left in the round.
Simmons beat the count, but the end was already written. Ruston pounced, pinning him on the ropes with a barrage of punches until the referee stepped in.
“An all-out assault!” Damon shouted. “He is something special.”
Simmons raged at the stoppage, yet Green pointed out the reality: the Bermudan was “kind of staggered” even as he protested.
Ruston, buzzing, wasn’t ready to slow down.
“I didn’t expect it to be the first round,” he said. “Get me in again! I’m ready to go. If he wanted to stay in longer, let him stay in longer.”
Main Event panellist Pete Badel didn’t hesitate with his assessment: the 28-year-old, he said, will soon be fighting for a world title.
“He is the real deal,” Badel added.
Grach Edges Pluto Again in Bloody Rematch
Heavyweight chaos followed, as Brandon Grach once more found a way past Ike “From” Pluto in a rematch that left both men marked and one legend stunned.
A month earlier, Grach had beaten Pluto on just 24 hours’ notice on the Tim Tszyu vs Errol Spence undercard. This time he had a full camp – and still had to walk through hell.
Late shots in the final round opened a cut above Grach’s eye, leaving him bloodied as the bell sounded. The judges, though, sided with “the Bull” again: 58-55, 56-57, 57-56 by split decision.
Green thought Pluto had done enough.
“He’s landed the cleaner shots,” he said late on, then doubled down after the verdict: “I’m going to call it, I think Pluto was the better fighter tonight.”
The difference, in the end, was a single moment. A heavy left hand from Grach in the second round dropped Pluto – the only knockdown of the fight and the decisive swing on the cards.
“All props to Ike from Pluto, he comes from another planet and he fights like it too,” Grach said in victory.
Mundine Marches On Under Famous Eyes
On the prelims, Rahim Mundine took another careful step out of his father’s long shadow.
With Anthony Mundine and his old rival Danny Green watching on – and offering no shortage of advice – Rahim extended his unbeaten record to 4-0 with a unanimous decision over Jae Larsen.
“The Dream”, once on track for a rugby league career before a hip injury redirected him to boxing, started brightly but faded late. He still banked the rounds, winning 52-45, 49-46, 48-47 on the cards in what was just his second televised fight after a controversial win over Lance McDonald in May.
It wasn’t flawless, yet under those watchful eyes, it was another step forward.
Tszyu Brothers, Silent Tension
Away from the ropes, another storyline simmered.
Tim Tszyu, fresh off his win over Errol Spence Jr in Sydney, was not at the Gold Coast to watch his younger brother’s eliminator. On social media, he sent his support to “the boys fighting”, listing Koen, Kira, Callum and Wells.
Nikita’s name was missing.
Nikita had been there for Tim’s last fight, standing in his corner as speculation swirled about tension between the brothers. Tim’s omission will only fuel those whispers. On a night when Nikita needed clarity, he got noise instead.
A Brutal Promise, A Murky Road
In the build-up, Nikita Tszyu had promised to “bend the rules” if he had to. The respectful tone between the camps vanished the moment he stepped on the scales and marched into Mahoney’s face at the weigh-in. He knew Mahoney, 17-0-1 coming in, would be better than ever under the lights.
“One thing I have noticed, all Aussie fighters when I fight them, they lift to another level,” he said. “Whatever we have seen from Mahoney in the past he will bring a little bit extra. I have made that mistake in the past, underestimating someone, and I’m prepared for something much bigger this time. I will be victorious.”
He was, officially. The world title shot he craves remains within reach. Blockbuster names like Keith Thurman have already been floated, and his camp still believes he can be a world champion inside 12 months.
Yet Mahoney has ripped up the script in his own way. He didn’t steal Tszyu’s ranking, but he may have stolen some of his momentum – and, in the eyes of many, the moral victory.
So where does ‘The Butcher’ go now? Straight towards Josh Kelly and the glittering prizes that await, or back into the fire with the man who pushed him to the brink and left a nation arguing over who really won on the Gold Coast?
