{"id":872164,"date":"2026-08-29T02:36:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T02:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/872164\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T02:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T02:36:18","slug":"boxing-2026-calls-for-nikita-tszyu-vs-ben-mahoney-ibf-world-title-eliminator-rematch-after-controversial-draw-video-reaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/872164\/","title":{"rendered":"Boxing 2026: Calls for Nikita Tszyu vs Ben Mahoney IBF world title eliminator rematch after controversial draw, video, reaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nikita Tszyu and Ben Mahoney have fought out a gripping draw on the Gold Coas<\/a>t, sparking immediate calls for the unbeaten Australians to run it back after their IBF world title eliminator ended without a winner.<\/p>\n

After 12 gruelling rounds at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, the judges could not separate the super-welterweight rivals, leaving both camps frustrated and the Australian boxing world divided over who deserved the decision.<\/p>\n

Moses v Hrgovic | Sunday August 30 from 3am AEST | Moses Itauma will seek to cement his place amid the leading heavyweight contenders when he faces Filip Hrgovic in London on August 30. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n

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One judge scored the contest for Tszyu, another sided with Mahoney, while the third had the fight even.<\/p>\n

The result was met by a mixture of cheers and boos inside the arena, with Tszyu\u2019s heavier punches appearing to give him the edge in several of the later rounds after Mahoney enjoyed considerable success behind his jab and movement early.<\/p>\n

Mahoney repeatedly frustrated Tszyu during the opening stages, controlling the distance and landing clean shots as \u2018The Butcher\u2019 attempted to close the space.<\/p>\n

But Tszyu gradually dragged his unbeaten rival into a more physical contest, landing a series of punishing left hands and forcing Mahoney to withstand huge pressure down the stretch.<\/p>\n

The contrasting styles made the fight incredibly difficult to score — and the debate continued long after the final bell.<\/p>\n

In a remarkable show of honesty, Tszyu admitted he thought his rival had done enough to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a tough fight,\u201d Tszyu told Main Event\u2019s Ben Damon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave him maybe one or two rounds more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a close fight, but I thought he edged it.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/p>\n

\u2018Slap s*** out of someone\u2019: Inside the chaos as explosive threats made over judge claim<\/a><\/p>\n

The words from Kostya that haunted Nikita as he made bombshell call on draw… which could change<\/a><\/p>\n

Where to now after Tszyu v Mahoney draw? | 05:20<\/p>\n

Mahoney agreed with Tszyu\u2019s assessment, insisting he should have been awarded the biggest victory of his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe I won that fight,\u201d Mahoney said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I came home nice and strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe I took the fight in those [last] two rounds \u2026 all respect to Nikita, he\u2019s a f***ing warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n

No Limit boss George Rose was booed as he entered the ring following the decision, but said he could not split the pair.<\/p>\n

\u201cNikita talked down his performance, I thought it was a rightful draw,\u201d Rose said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell you what, I\u2019ll keep my composure, because I want to slap the s**t out of somebody if that [the booing] keeps going.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody who wants to boo me — meet me out the front and we\u2019ll sort it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mahoney tried to calm down the crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no need for hostility, we both have our peace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put our life on the line and get in the ring and punch the f–k out of each other. When decisions don\u2019t go our way, we\u2019re a little bit emotional, sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The split among those ringside underlined just how difficult the fight was to judge.<\/p>\n

Australian boxing legend Danny Green believed Tszyu\u2019s repeated success with his left hand had been enough to get him over the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just felt that Nikita landed that left hand so often \u2026 it\u2019s difficult to score,\u201d Green said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had Nikita Tszyu winning the fight. Full respect to Ben Mahoney, who I said wouldn\u2019t go past eight rounds. He proved me wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a magic fight. It\u2019s not pleasant when it ends controversially. I\u2019ll have to watch it again to then score it properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Mahoney and Nikita TszyuSource: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n

Veteran reporter Peter Badel scored the fight a draw but said Tszyu would need to find another level if he was to fulfil his world title ambitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Nikita\u2019s going to win a world title, we need to see another gear from him,\u201d Badel said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat wasn\u2019t enough to tell me he\u2019s ready for the world stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the greatest performance of his [Mahoney\u2019s] career \u2026 what a warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n

Badel was far less complimentary about the 117-111 scorecard, branding it impossible to justify in such a closely contested fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that 117-111 scorecard was a disgrace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe it was that wide.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of the greatest fights that we\u2019ve seen in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many global boxing voices also reacted to the fight, with top US pundit Mike Coppinger among those calling out Tszyu\u2019s rarely seen act of effectively conceding he lost the fight.<\/p>\n

Peters v Wells: Full Fight Highlights | 09:17<\/p>\n

While opinions differed over who deserved to win, there was almost unanimous agreement about what should happen next.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to see the boys run it back,\u201d Green said.<\/p>\n

Australian world champion Liam Paro agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s hope they run it back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With neither man beaten and no clear winner emerging from 12 tough rounds, a rematch now shapes as the only way to settle the argument.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nikita Tszyu and Ben Mahoney have fought out a gripping draw on the Gold Coast, sparking immediate calls…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":872165,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-872164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/872165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}