Analysis: The only option for Nikita Tszyu after one-sided demolition of Lulzim Ismaili, many questions yet to be answered
There are only two viable fights left in Australia for Nikita Tszyu to pursue after his obliteration of Macedonian opponent, Lulzim Ismaili.
Nikita Tszyu must look to clean out his own backyard in his next two fights before setting his sights on America.
That means domestic tests against Brock Jarvis and Michael Zerafa, who both scored knockout wins on Tszyu’s undercard on Wednesday night.
It also means another few months of closely tracking Tszyu’s pesky left hand, which had sidelined him for a year.
Tszyu threw exactly 14 lefts in his one round demolition of the overmatched Lulzim Ismaili on Wednesday night.
Not all of them landed cleanly, but they are the 14 shots that prove his left fist is as good as can be hoped for after surgery late last year.
The very first time the southpaw unleashed his powerful left, he cracked Ismaili on the chin and sent him to the canvas after just 73 seconds.
The fifth buckled Ismaili’s legs and forced him to turn his back looking for safety.
There were a few near misses as Ismaili went into survival mode, but the 14th and last left hand of the round dug into the Macedonian’s midsection and busted a rib, ending the fight.
It was a measured and powerful performance from Tszyu after a year of frustrating injury setbacks.
It was the perfect comeback fight, but it didn’t answer many questions about how good he can actually be.
Tszyu will have had harder sparring sessions preparing for this fight.
To get a clearer understanding of his post-surgery potential, he must fight Jarvis and Zerafa next.
There was talk of Nikita fighting twice before the end of the year, but his manager, Glen Jennings said that isn’t realistic.
“Two fights is a stretch for the rest of this year at this level,” Jennings told Code Sports. “Maybe there’s one big one this year, and that’s fine.
“There’s no more tune-ups for Nikita. There can’t be. His ranking now requires him to keep moving forward.
“Those two names (Jarvis and Zerafa) are options for us, and ultimately, 2026 Nikita will launch overseas.
“All the talk has been Zerafa, but it doesn’t matter. It depends on who wants Nikita?”
No Limit will look to have Nikita back in the ring in October or November, with Zerafa and Jarvis the leading candidates.
“I’d like to see him fight Brock and Michael based on how they performed and how he performed,” No Limit CEO George Rose told Code Sports.
“It’s a chance for him to stamp his name on Australia and to have no questions left around, ‘Oh, he’s fighting overseas, but he hasn’t cleaned out his back yard.’
“He’s fought everyone in Australia so far, and these two guys are still here.
“I’d love for him to stamp his authority on both of them, and take off and take on the world.”
Zerafa’s relationship with No Limit has been rocky at times, culminating in a fight week blow-up on Monday, but Rose said it won’t stop ‘The Pretty Boy’ landing a shot against Nikita.
“Zerafa turned up and didn’t everything asked of him.” He said. “He turned up to the weigh-in in shape and to the fight in shape.
“He put on a great performance. He looked quite dangerous.
“Given what’s happened over the last 12 months, there has to be a Tszyu-Zerafa at some stage very soon. There just has to be.”
Zerafa’s rivalry with Tim goes back half a decade, and he has let it be known he’d rather fight ‘The Soul Taker’.
“I believe I can beat Nikita,” Zerafa said. “I believe he’s doing great things, he’s beating everyone in front of him, but I think there’s more to do.
“There’s more to go.”
Jarvis rebounded from his defeat to Keith Thurman earlier in the year with a measured fourth round stoppage of Sam Beck on the same card.
Jarvis is back training with Hall of Famer Jeff Fenech, and only wants the hardest fights.
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“I’m willing to take on the hardest challenges thrown my way,” he said. “I’m a fighter, that’s what I’m here for.”
Meanwhile, Koen Mazoudier – who went agonisingly close to stopping Tszyu last year – was a keen ringside observer on Wednesday.
Mazoudier is back in action on September 25, but could be in line to fight Jarvis if a Tszyu-Zerafa fight is made.
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