Nikita Tszyu vs Ben Mahoney: A Controversial IBF Eliminator
Nikita Tszyu walked into the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre with a clear script in front of him: beat his “final boss” Ben Mahoney, punch his ticket to Josh Kelly and the IBF super-welterweight world title, and step out from his brother’s shadow with authority.
He walked out with his hand raised – and his future clouded.
A brutal, breathless 12-round eliminator ended in a split decision that satisfied almost no one. The judges returned 117-111 for Tszyu, 115-113 for Mahoney, and 114-114. The crowd howled. Social media lit up. And the man who was supposed to emerge as the new clear-and-present danger at 154 pounds admitted, on live television, that he thought he’d lost.
“I gave the fight to Ben. He was a tough fight,” Tszyu told Main Event’s Ben Damon. “I gave him maybe 1-2 rounds more. It was a close fight, but I thought he edged it.”
Mahoney didn’t disagree.
“I do believe I won that fight,” the Queenslander said, still riding the adrenaline. “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.”
The crowd roared for their man. The result, though, would not budge.
A favourite dragged into a dogfight
Tszyu came in as the heavy favourite, the world No.5 expected to slice through an unfancied local and stride on toward the likes of Kelly and Keith Thurman. Instead, he found himself in the fight of his life against a man who refused to play the role of stepping stone.
From the opening bell Mahoney fought like a man who’d waited a decade for this chance. He started fast, heavy hands thudding home in the first and second rounds as chants of “Benny, Benny, Benny” rolled around the arena. Tszyu, typically methodical, went downstairs early, investing in the body and trying to slow the Queenslander’s legs.
Even the referee got dragged into the chaos, tumbling to the canvas in the second round to a brief laugh from Tszyu before the pair went straight back to trading leather.
Then came the blood.
A clash of heads in the third opened a cut near Tszyu’s eye, leaving him blinking through red for much of the night. If this was supposed to be his coronation, it had suddenly turned into an examination. Still, he arguably shaded that third round with a sharp shot to the face right on the bell, the first sign that he was beginning to claw his way into control.
From there the fight settled into a punishing rhythm. Tszyu’s body work dug in. Mahoney’s jab and combinations refused to fade. Every time the favourite seemed to be tightening the screws, the underdog answered with something that swung momentum back his way.
In the ninth, with the stakes rising, Mahoney strayed low and was warned by the referee as Tszyu took a moment to recover. It was a brief pause in a contest that refused to slow.
‘Four rounds to change your life’
If there was a turning point, it came in the corner.
Heading into the ninth, Mahoney’s coach Josh Arnold delivered the line every fighter wants and dreads: “Four rounds to change your life.” The Queenslander responded. He surged, biting down on the mouthguard, pushing Tszyu back and leaning on the roar of a partisan crowd.
The 11th brought a slip from Mahoney that left him vulnerable just long enough for Tszyu to rip in a string of body shots. It was the kind of moment that can tilt close fights on the cards, a reminder of the clinical edge that had carried Tszyu to this stage.
Before the final round, Arnold went deeper.
“This is for your daughter,” he told his fighter, as Mahoney lifted his arms and tried to drag every last decibel from the Gold Coast faithful.
He might not have got the decision, but he gave them everything.
When the bell finally sounded to end 12 savage rounds, both men embraced. Whatever had been said in the build-up, whatever talk there’d been of “bending the rules”, was buried under mutual respect.
Damon, calling it on Main Event, didn’t bother dressing it up.
“An all-action brawl, a world title eliminator worth of its position! What a fight we’ve seen. Two warriors on the Gold Coast.”
Danny Green, ringside and watching every second, was just as effusive.
“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.”
Green had edged his own card towards Tszyu, but when the official scores landed and the backlash began, another thought quickly emerged.
“I think we need a rematch!” Damon declared.
“For me, I’d love to see a rematch,” Green replied. “I think it’s fair for both boxers.”
On this evidence, few would argue.
Mazoudier survives scare to keep Charlo date alive
Earlier in the night, another Australian with big plans was forced to walk the tightrope.
Koen Mazoudier risked his looming showdown with former two-division world champion Jermall Charlo by taking on dangerous middleweight Sam Beck on the main card. It almost backfired.
Across ten furious rounds, Beck pushed Mazoudier to the brink, turning what was supposed to be a tune-up into a slugfest. When the scores came back – 95-95, 97-93, 96-94 to Mazoudier by majority decision – there was relief more than celebration in the winner’s voice.
“It’s a huge risk for Mazoudier, but it’s an incredible fight. Take a bow!” Damon said on commentary.
“Phenomenal performance by both fighters,” Green added.
The numbers told their own story. The pair combined for 526 landed punches. Beck absorbed more than 150 body shots yet kept trudging forward, determined to rip up the script.
By the third, Mazoudier’s eye was badly swollen. In the sixth, Beck sent his mouthguard flying with a crisp uppercut and a heavy left that Green instantly labelled “two of the best punches of the fight.”
Mazoudier and Charlo were originally slated to meet on the Tim Tszyu vs Errol Spence undercard before visa issues scuttled the American’s trip. The Australian now gets his shot, but he didn’t sugarcoat what needs to change.
“Need to be a lot better than that (against Charlo) – that was a poor performance,” he said bluntly. “They dogged us – they were supposed to come here. I love the underdog story. Let’s go back to his backyard and take it.”
The blockbuster is still alive. Barely.
Ruston’s ruthless streak rolls on
If the main event and Mazoudier-Beck were about grit and survival, Kirra Ruston delivered pure violence.
The Australian extended his extraordinary run of stoppages with a first-round TKO of Saundre Simmons, making it ten wins and ten TKOs as a professional.
It didn’t start like a blowout. The opening minute was cautious, both men probing. Then Ruston saw his opening. A vicious right hook crashed home and dumped Simmons on the canvas with a minute left in the round.
The Bermudan beat the count, but his night was effectively over. Ruston swarmed, trapping him on the ropes and unloading until the referee stepped in.
“An all-out assault!” Damon roared. “He is something special.”
Simmons was furious with the stoppage, arguing his case, but Green noted he was still “kind of staggered” as he spoke to the referee.
Ruston, buzzing but composed, insisted he was ready for more.
“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.”
Ten fights. Ten TKOs. Main Event panellist Pete Badel didn’t hesitate.
“He is the real deal,” Badel said, adding that he expects the 28-year-old to be fighting for a world title soon.
On this trajectory, it’s hard to argue.
Feuds, snubs and heavyweight drama
The Tszyu family subplot hovered over the night before a punch was thrown.
Tim Tszyu, fresh off his win over Errol Spence Jr in Sydney, was understood not to be attending his younger brother’s eliminator on the Gold Coast. His message on social media only stoked the fire.
“Goodluck to the boys fighting. Keen to watch Koen, Kira, Callum and Wells!” he posted on Instagram.
No mention of Nikita.
Nikita had been in the arena for Tim’s last fight, and whispers about tension between the brothers have been growing. The omission did nothing to quiet them.
In the heavyweight ranks, Brandon Grach and Ike “From” Pluto served up a rematch that was every bit as wild as their first meeting. A month after Grach beat Pluto on just 24 hours’ notice on the Tim Tszyu vs Errol Spence undercard, the pair went at it again.
This time Pluto had a full camp, and by the final round Grach was bloodied, a cut above his eye opened by repeated late shots. Green thought Pluto had done enough.
“He’s landed the cleaner shots,” he said during the fight, before adding afterwards: “I’m going to call it, I think Pluto was the better fighter tonight.”
The judges disagreed. Grach took another split decision, 58-55, 56-57, 57-56, with a heavy left hand in the second – the only knockdown of the fight – looming large on the cards.
“All props to Ike from Pluto, he comes from another planet and he fights like it too,” Grach said in victory.
Earlier, on the prelims, the next chapter of a famous fighting name quietly unfolded.
Rahim Mundine, son of NRL and boxing star Anthony, extended his unbeaten run to 4-0 with a unanimous points win over Jae Larsen. Scores of 52-45, 49-46, 48-47 reflected a strong start and a tiring finish from “The Dream”, who once chased a rugby league career before a hip injury pushed him fully into the ring.
With Anthony watching on – alongside his old rival Green, both offering advice – Mundine banked his second televised win after a controversial victory over Lance McDonald in May. The surname carries weight. Nights like this suggest he’s prepared to carry it.
Where now for Nikita?
The build-up to Tszyu–Mahoney had been respectful but simmering. Nikita promised to “bend the rules” if he had to, warning that once the gloves were on, any niceties were gone. Mahoney, unbeaten at 17-0-1, walked in knowing one win could tear up every plan laid out for “The Butcher” – from a world title shot at Josh Kelly to a potential US debut against the likes of Thurman.
What unfolded was everything an eliminator should be: raw, tense, unforgiving.
Tszyu’s camp believes he can become a world champion within 12 months. On paper, a win in an IBF eliminator keeps that dream alive. But boxing is not just numbers and rankings. It’s perception. It’s noise. It’s the way a fighter looks when the lights are brightest.
On the Gold Coast, Tszyu showed heart, durability and spite. He also showed vulnerability, and he told the world he thought he’d lost.
The crowd wants a rematch. The commentators want a rematch. Mahoney certainly wants a rematch.
The IBF rankings will move on. The question is whether Tszyu can, without settling this argument the way fighters always have – by doing it all over again.
