There’s very few boxers in the world who can lay claim to being the headline act in two of their first three professional fights, but then again, Nikita Tszyu isn’t like most.
The famous surname and the decision to turn professional when he did meant there was no escaping the spotlight and immediate expectations.
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Tszyu won his first two fights in dominant fashion, but against Ben Horn, it went the distance in an ending very few were expecting as the Queenslander proved to be a tough customer.
Despite not being at 100 per cent for the fight and being his third professional bout, it didn’t stop fans questioning whether Tszyu was deserving of the hype.
But the 24-year-old couldn’t care less about what the boo boys think.
“I don’t let anything external dictate how I act,” Tszyu told foxsports.com.au.
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“My friends were saying I was getting a lot of backlash about the fight. I don’t use Facebook so I don’t hear any of the comments.
“I don’t let information from people who don’t know anything about the sport go into my head. It’s all about what you allow in and there’s not much coming in from the outside.”
The noise from his closest confidants was, unsurprisingly, completely different from the average punter.
Although it wasn’t the highlight reel finish many have perhaps come to expect from Tszyu, being taken the distance by Horn in a brutal slugfest was perhaps just what he needed when it was needed most.
“Like a lot of people in my team said, it was a great experience for you to learn early on in your career,” Tszyu said.
“Usually in the first 10 or so fights, you’re just walking through everyone and you don’t experience that kind of resilience until you fight someone of a higher calibre.
“Learning something like that early on was very beneficial because you got to have that experience of a really tough battle.”
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FULL FIGHT CARD
MAIN CARD
Dennis Hogan vs Sam Eggington (IBO super welterweight world title)
Nikita Tszyu vs Darkon Dryden
Sam Goodman vs Jason Cooper (IBF Inter-Continental & WBO Oriental super bantamweight titles)
Lachie Higgins vs Cody Beeken
Darragh Foley vs Blake Minto (vacant IBO International light welterweight title)
Shanell Dargan vs Ayisha Abied
PRELIMS
Jayde Mitchell vs Mark Lucas
Ella Boot vs Zoe Putorak (vacant Australian welterweight title)
Tywarna Campbell vs Jessica Adams (Australian super featherweight title)
Richie Fa’aoso vs Louis Marsters
Amber Amelia vs Danni Mace
Ash Sims vs Sarah Watt
DIGITAL PRELIMS
David Light vs Vikas Singh
Bailey Mannix vs Dan Murray
Antonio Talivaa vs George Peterson
Jason Fawcett vs Jayden Riddle
Tylisha Turner vs Brianna Harrison
Bryce Jones vs Hector Tapueluelu
Jack Tresidder vs Dan Harwood
