When it comes to selling the Tszyu dream, it's ‘No más'

The Age

5 days ago

In the closing stages of the ninth round, Horn looked cooked.
The Brisbane school teacher just made it to the bell after soaking up Pacquiao's biggest blows. As Horn sat on his stool, veteran referee Mark Nelson had seen enough.
'Jeff, listen, I'm here to protect you, ok?' Nelson said. 'I think you've had enough. Do you want to continue?'
Horn's trainer, Glenn Rushton, was adamant his charge still had some fight left in him.
'Show me something in this round,' Nelson said, 'Or I'm going to stop the fight.'
Horn rose from the stool. In those championship rounds, against one of the greatest of them all - Pacquiao is an eight-division world champion who has held belts in every weight class from 50 to 69 kilograms - the Australian underdog etched himself into sporting folklore.
Three years later, in a fight against Tszyu, Horn was again on his stool at the end of the eighth.
Tszyu had battered a punch-drunk Horn - who by this stage of his career had been pummelled by pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford - into submission.
'Have you got a punch left in you or not?' Rushton asked his fighter.
'No,' was the reply.
'Do you want to give us a minute?'
On this occasion the right call was made. The fight was stopped and Horn never fought again.
Which brings us back to Tszyu. When he was getting pumelled by Russian Bakhram Murtazaliev, in another humbling world title loss last October, he was too brave for his own good.
After being knocked down on four separate occasions, the massacre only ended when his brother, Nikita, threw in the towel.
On that occasion, the 'Soul Taker' had nothing left to give. But was that the case in his rematch with Fundora?
Some of the most powerful men in the sport felt Tszyu quit prematurely.
Turki Al-Sheikh, the billionaire Saudi Arabian boxing promoter, said this in a Tweet that was subsequently deleted.
'I said to you from the beginning, Tim Tszyu does not deserve to be on a Riyadh Season or Ring Magazine card. He can be a useful sparring partner for a champion in Riyadh Season.'
Al-Sheikh had previously ruled out ever dealing with Tszyu again after the Australian pulled out of a scheduled clash with Vergil Ortiz Jnr, citing his recovery from the cut Fundora inflicted in their first fight.
Which leaves Tszyu with precious few options as he attempts to rebuild a career and brand on the precipice. After opting to end the fight on his stool, the stock price of No Limit and broadcaster Main Event crashed through the floor.
Charging punters $70, the going rate for the privilege of tuning into a Tszyu fight, will become an almost impossible sell.
It was the same asking price to witness Paul Gallen earn a controversial points decision against long-time rival Sonny Bill Williams last week. There was one main difference between the Tszyu fight and that event, which was shown exclusively on Stan which, like this masthead, is owned by Nine Entertainment
Regardless of the outcome, viewers knew Gallen, just like he did on the football field, would do everything humanly possible to win. Gallen isn't one to literally or figuratively finish on his stool.
It's been 45 years since the most infamous end to a boxing bout. In the eighth round of their rematch, Roberto Duran waved his glove and turned his back on Sugar Ray Leonard.
The man dubbed 'Hands of Stone' had had enough.
'No más,' said Duran, meaning 'No more' in Spanish.
At some point, Tszyu will likely attempt another comeback. His spruikers will try to sell the dream; that he can overcome the latest setback, that he can add to the family's fighting legacy, that he can again become a world champion.