Tim Tszyu has suffered another devastating setback, losing once again to American Sebastian Fundora in the pair’s much-hyped world title rematch in Las Vegas.

Tszyu had been hunting redemption after losing a split-decision bloodbath to Fundora 16 months ago.

Instead Australia’s former WBO super-welterweight world champ will return to Sydney with his international career at another crossroad following a brutal seventh-round corner stoppage.

Saturday night’s TKO loss at the MGM Grand’s Garden Arena was the 30-year-old’s third from his past four bouts, after going unbeaten for his first 24 professional fights.

Tszyu also endured a crushing world-title loss last year to big-hitting Russian Bakhram Murtazaliev before Fundora sportingly offered him a rematch after the Sydney slayer knocked out fellow American Joey Spencer in March.

Team Tszyu say it is too early to speculate on his future in the sport.

Tszyu (25-3, 18KOs) may consider a move up to the light-middleweight ranks, as he has previously forecast, or hope Keith Thurman lives up to his word after the US star called him out after slaying Brock Jarvis earlier this year in Sydney.

More immediately, Tszyu must digest another crushing defeat that left the son of a gun in hospital for a precautionary check of his battered body following another ferocious fight with Fundora.

Last time around against his gangling 197cm opponent, Tszyu had to fight for 10 rounds half-blinded after walking into Fundora’s elbow and suffering an horrific cut to an artery at the top of his head.

In the return bout, Tszyu fought with more patience but couldn’t stay with the near two-metre tall rival.

Fundora made a spectacular start, dropping Tszyu in the opening round with a thunderous straight left to the head.

Sebastian Fundora knocks down Tim Tszyu in the first round of their WBC super welterweight title fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Photograph: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Tszyu’s cut man Mark Gambin was again under immense pressure after Fundora landed a flurry of punches to open up a nasty wound above the Australian’s right eye in the second round.

Struggling to cope with Fundora’s massive height and reach advantage, Tszyu looked in peril before catching the American with a huge over-hand right in round four.

But the Californian, the tallest world champion in all of boxing – continued to throw and land more punches than Tszyu.

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Tszyu needed to conjure something special. Showing supreme courage to stay in the contest, Tszyu found some joy with his body shots before the fight exploded in a ferocious round seven.

Despite hurting Fundora and maybe even breaking the champion’s nose, Tszyu agreed he could not return for round eight.

Fundora is about to start a six-year engineering degree at Harvard University, but Tszyu graciously said his vanquisher was already fully qualified in the sweet science.

“I tried to give it everything, but I just couldn’t do it and victory belongs to Sebastian Fundora, the best 154-pounder on the planet right now,” Tszyu said. “He was just a better man. He’s a better man.”

Fundora said the fight transpired exactly how he envisioned it would.

“I dropped him in round one and I remembered that my dad said all week that he thinks we could get him out of there and that’s what we did,” the 26-year-old said.

“I was not surprised I dropped him. I was coming off a loss last time, so my mentality wasn’t there. Coming into this fight, I was the champion and mentally I was better.

“I’m the bigger guy. Everyone says I’m a bully in the ring, so I thought I should start really bullying these guys.

“I just kept working on aggression my whole career and we’ve just been adding. I’m here at 154 to stay and ready to get more belts.”