Tim Tszyu airs complaint as Harry Garside's return to boxing finishes in drama
Harry Garside has made a triumphant return to the professional boxing circuit after defeating Charlie Bell, but Aussie star Tim Tszyu questioned the divisive referee stoppage. Garside was able to stay out of Bell's range throughout the five rounds with his left hand causing havoc after cutting his opponent halfway through the fight on Wednesday night.
Clearly winning every round as he piled up the points with his quick hands, Garside was dominating a determined Bell who repeatedly tried to get on the inside of the southpaw. And Garside recorded his first professional win in three years, after his disappointing Paris Olympics campaign, when referee Les Fear stopped the lightweight bout after five rounds.
Although Bell was left infuriated with the stoppage. Referee Fear walked over to the corner after the fifth having watched Bell take plenty of punishment throughout the round. And after a brief moment, Fear determined he would stop the fight as Bell's team worked on a cut above his left eye.
'Sit down Charlie, that's enough. That's it," Fear said to the fighter. But this didn't set well with the Queensland boxer who argued with the referee over the decision.
'What? What? No! F**k off, no! What the f**k," he said in frustration. Garside showed class having immediately walked over to Bell and embraced his gritty opponent as frustration could be heard in the arena.
And speaking during commentary, Tszyu questioned the referee and felt Bell deserved the opportunity to enter the final round of the fight and potentially see it out standing on his two feet. 'I think Charlie Bell deserves to continue on. I don't think he was ever really hurt. He was an Aussie warrior and I feel like it could have continued," Tszyu said after the stoppage.
'You can see by his facial expressions, he wanted to finish the fight. I guess the referee is trying to protect him, but I don't know. Harry was landing some really clean shots.'
Garside admitted it felt 'amazing' to get back into the ring with a win, but also praised his opponent. 'Charlie come here to fight. He's a tough Aussie bloke and I'm grateful," he added. Garside had a cut above his left eye, which required five staples after the bout.
And the Aussie admitted the step up to professional level is a new challenge where he needs to keep improving. "I've been cut many times in my life, bloody southpaws always get cut," Garside said. "I've definitely had it before, I haven't been cut for many years but I feel like I just had to get back into gear and box nice and smart."
Tszyu wasn't the only one who felt the stoppage was harsh on Bell. Fans couldn't believe the fight was called off with three minutes to go and felt Bell wasn't taking any serious damage for a professional bout. Others were glad to see Garside return with a win after admitting he felt 'embarrassed' after his Paris Olympics elimination.
Harry Garside looked good tonight. Definitely needs to work on his defence but he's a great natural puncher and super quick on his feet. Good to see him back on the right path post Olympics, I felt awful for him
— Aidan (@GriffoBJ) May 14, 2025
What a joke, horrendous stoppage.
— Darleh (@darleh92) May 14, 2025
Bad stoppage the kid was not hurt he could have gone 10 rounds
— Killa (@killaboxing) May 14, 2025
During his stint in commentary, Tszyu offered an insight into his mindset ahead of his highly-anticipated rematch with Sebastian Fundora. Tszyu lost his belt to the towering middleweight two years ago after a cut derailed his bout.
But the Aussie is ready to seek revenge and is confident he can overturn the result. "I've cleared out my cupboard ... on the left-hand side I've made a spot specifically for the WBC belt," Tszyu said on Wednesday. "I've left it there and I'm visualising that green belt being there."
Tszyu admitted having stepped into the ring with the tall American he has found it hard to find a sparring partner to replicate his opponent. "Fundora is a tough fight for anyone with his natural God-given abilities being that tall," Tszyu added.
"You have to make it a dogfight in there. This isn't round one, it's going to be round 13 as soon as we start." Speaking on a future bout with Keith Thurman, Tszyu hinted there could be something in the works down the line. "Stay in the loop, because there could be a potential superfight happening with titles on the line."
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