Terence Crawford didn’t hesitate when he gave his opinion on Bakhram Murtazaliev’s shocking dismantling of Tim Tszyu.
The defeat means the Australian star has now lost both of his last two fights, with questions now hanging over what the 29-year-old’s next career move will be.
Murtazaliev put in a dominant performance to retain his IBF super welterweight title, coming out of the blocks in the opening round and landing some brutal blows on his opponent.
His barrage of strikes kept coming and Tszyu looked sluggish as he fell to the canvas three times in the second round.
The Russian boxer would continue to pressure his opponent in the third round, landing a crushing left hook to the side of Tszyu’s head, sending him crashing to the canvas for the fourth time. Bravely, Tszyu tried to continue, but he seemed worn out by the blow, after which his team threw in the towel.
Some took to social media to question the Australian’s performance, with Crawford appearing to take a swipe at the Australian boxer and claiming he had underestimated his opponent, publishing a series of unfiltered messages on X (formerly Twitter).
During the fight, he wrote “stop the fight” and “lol giving Tim time is crazy,” before giving his thoughts on the fight after Tszyu’s team threw in the towel.
“Tim thought he had an easy one,” Crawford wrote on X.
“Took this guy lightly and was worried about other fighters.”
Terence Crawford (pictured) has given a brutally honest assessment of Tim Tszyu’s defeat to Bakhram Murtazaliev
Murtazaliev (right) punched Tszyu to the canvas four times in their meeting for the IBF super welterweight belts on Sunday
Some fans hit back at Crawford after posting the message online, with one writing: “Mr. Glassjaw Crawford. You have already avoided Fundora and will not come near Bakhram again.’
“Bruv, you shouldn’t be talking, you barely got through [Israil] Madrimov,” said another.
But some agreed with Crawford’s views, with the Courier Mail’s Peter Badel speaking out about the Main Event’s coverage.
“I thought Tim was a little arrogant at first,” Badel said.
“I don’t think Tim has earned the right to dominate in this fight. He just thought he could walk him down.
“When he fought Mendoza, he took his time. He was alert early and started to apply pressure in the third and fourth rounds.
‘But in this round he tried to pop early and Bakhram Murtazaliev landed three or four times. This is a devastating loss for Tim Tszyu.
‘I am shocked by the way Tim fought that battle. Normally he’s such a great executioner, so disciplined with his boxing IQ. But tonight I thought his brains went out the window for brawn. With Bakhram Murtazaliez you don’t fight fire with fire. I think it was the wrong tactic, it was a tactical blunder.”
After the fight, a stunned Tszyu admitted that he had been defeated by a better fighter that night.
“What the hell just happened?” Tszyu, who was in disbelief, said.
‘What hit me? I couldn’t regroup and… I don’t know, man. S*** ain’t going your way and you just gotta bounce back, you know.
‘I was positive after Fundora.’
The result means Tszyu has now lost both of his last two fights, with the Australian admitting Murtazaliev was the better fighter of the night.
He added: “This didn’t go according to script. It was a little different. I felt incredible to be honest with you. I felt I had a great preparation.
“So he got me, man. He was the better man of the night and we live and learn.”
Crawford published several posts on X (formerly Twitter) during the fight, before writing: “Tim thought he had an easy one”
However, some questioned his comment, with one even going so far as to call him ‘Mr Glassjaw’.
Crawford had said he didn’t know what was happening in the ring after taking the beating from his Russian opponent
Former world welterweight champion Andre Berto questioned why Tszyu returned after his previous defeat to Murtazaliev
Others also shared their disbelief on social media, including former two-time former welterweight world champion Andre Berto.
“Who the hell had the bright idea to match Tim Tszyu with this big, undefeated Russian pit bull for a comeback fight after a lost smh,” Berto said, before adding, “That was just stupid!!”