Nikita Tszyu vs Ben Mahoney: A Controversial Split Draw

Nikita Tszyu walked into the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre with a clear script in mind: beat Ben Mahoney, clear the final hurdle, and punch his ticket towards IBF champion Josh Kelly and a raft of big-money nights.

He walked out with his hand raised, but his future clouded.

After 12 savage, momentum-swinging rounds in their IBF super-welterweight title eliminator, Tszyu escaped with a split draw in a result that stunned a fiercely pro-Mahoney crowd and left both men convinced the wrong fighter got the better of it.

The cards read 117-111 Tszyu, 115-113 Mahoney, 114-114. The noise that followed said everything.

“I gave the fight to Ben. He was a tough fight,” Tszyu admitted bluntly on Main Event, almost wincing as he spoke. “I gave him maybe 1-2 rounds more. It was a close fight, but I thought he edged it.”

Across the ring, Mahoney didn’t hesitate.

“I do believe I won that fight,” he 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.”

The crowd agreed with him. Loudly.

A brutal night, a brutal verdict

From the opening bell, the script started to fray.

Mahoney, the unbeaten Queenslander fighting in his own backyard, jumped on Tszyu early. Backed by chants of “Benny, Benny, Benny”, he dug in heavy shots through the first two rounds, forcing the highly ranked world No.5 to feel the weight of the occasion.

Tszyu, hunting the body from the outset, tried to slow the local down. A slip from the referee in the second round briefly broke the tension and drew a grin from the Sydneysider, but the respite didn’t last. The exchanges only grew sharper.

Then came the third-round clash of heads that changed the texture of the fight. Tszyu’s eye opened up, blood trickling and then streaming, an ugly target that Mahoney did not ignore. From that moment on, Tszyu fought with a face that told its own story.

Yet he still found a way to claw back momentum. A sharp punch to Mahoney’s face right on the bell in the third arguably stole the round and hinted at a shift. Tszyu began to close the distance, backing Mahoney up, investing in the ribs and liver, trying to sap the legs of a man who refused to wilt.

The fight became exactly what it had been billed as: an all-action brawl with world title stakes attached.

“This is for your daughter,” coach Josh Arnold told Mahoney before the ninth, a line that seemed to jolt his fighter back to life. Mahoney bit down and went with him, trading furiously as the rounds slipped away, refusing to accept the role of stepping stone.

The pressure finally told in other ways. A low blow from Mahoney in the ninth forced a timeout and a warning, giving Tszyu a precious breather as the contest descended into a test of who could endure more.

In the eleventh, a Mahoney slip opened a window. Tszyu pounced, ripping in more of those body shots that had been his constant theme, trying to bank late points and break resistance at the same time.

By the twelfth, both men were exhausted but defiant. Mahoney tried to rouse the crowd one more time, Arnold in his ear, the arena on its feet. They emptied the tank in three minutes that felt like a street fight with gloves.

When the bell rang, there was no embrace of certainty. Only respect.

‘Two warriors on the Gold Coast’

“What a fight we’ve seen. Two warriors on the Gold Coast,” Main Event commentator Ben Damon said as the final punches landed, calling it “an all-action brawl, a world title eliminator worth of its position”.

Ringside, Danny Green – who had leaned slightly towards Tszyu as the likely winner before the scores were read – could barely contain his admiration.

“Outstanding fight there,” Green 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.”

Then came the numbers, the boos, and the disbelief.

A wide 117-111 to Tszyu on one card jarred violently with the mood in the arena and the fighters’ own assessments. The 115-113 to Mahoney and the 114-114 even card only added to the sense of a night that answered some questions about both men, while asking a dozen more about what happens next.

Damon cut through the noise.

“I think we need a rematch!” he declared.

Green, rarely one to chase theatre for its own sake, didn’t hesitate.

“For me, I’d love to see a rematch,” he replied. “I think it’s fair for both boxers.”

A rematch would delay Tszyu’s march towards Josh Kelly and the world title shot his camp believes is inevitable within the next 12 months. It would also honour the man who, in his own backyard, took the highly touted favourite into the deepest water of his career and came out convinced he’d done enough.

Mahoney may not have left with the eliminator win he craved, but he left with something else: validation. He had been warned he had “four rounds to change your life” by Arnold heading into the championship frames. On this evidence, he might have changed it anyway.

“He may not have won – but the Queenslander certainly did that family proud,” was the understated verdict from commentary. It felt right.

The official result keeps the door to blockbuster fights ajar for Tszyu, yet the manner of it ensures one thing: before anyone talks too loudly about Josh Kelly or a US debut, the boxing world will keep asking the same question.

How do you move forward when your “final boss” walked out of the ring believing he beat you – and half the arena agreed?