Tim Tszyu Easily Defeats Takeshi Inoue
In his latest in-ring tour of duty, super welterweight fighter Tim “The Soul Taker” Tszyu (20-0, 15 KO’s) kept his flawless record intact. The Australian bruiser did so by thoroughly out-boxing Takeshi Inoue (17-2-1, 10 KO’s) over twelve straight rounds to win a wide unanimous decision. When the cards were read Tszyu prevailed by the wide tallies of 120-107 (twice) and 119-108. The prizefight stood as the Soul Takers third fight of the year and was the only one not won by way of knockout.
ONE WAY ACTION
While the fight was far from a snooze fest it certainly did devolve into something of a monotonous affair. Right from the start the taller and longer Tszyu was able to successfully keep Inoue at bay with his jab. The Japanese fighter definitely attempted to fight harder as the bout progressed, sadly he never managed to compete in a smarter fashion. Inoue simply kept crudely charging in, minus a jab of any sort, in order to land a single shot or two. Most of the time that he attempted this he ate a good deal of shots coming and going.
For his part, Tszyu stalked and functioned largely as a sharpshooter. His rigid jab, body hooks and guard splitting uppercuts were his most reliable weapons all night long. Yet, after seeing one or two rounds of the fight, you had pretty much got the flavor for all of them. The only oddities of the fight came in round five when Inoue turned his back and fled across the ring Tszyu in hot pursuit. Inoue was also charged with a knockdown in the twelfth and final round. Though it should be mentioned that Inoue was already clearly falling off balance and the punch in question didn’t seem to land. In any event, being buried under the mountainous point’s deficiency, it really made no difference.
WHAT’S THE NEXT MOVE?
With the win officially notched, Tszyu can continue attempting to position himself for a full world title shot. This is not such an outlandish a notion as he is already ranked #1 (WBO), #3 (IBF) and #3 (WBC). With these standings his best shot would be to go after WBO super welterweight champion Brian Castano. The champ recently staged a prizefight with WBA super, IBF and WBC super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo to establish an undisputed champion.
Regrettably that bout ended in a frustrating draw. If not Castano, perhaps Tszyu could focus his attention on facing #1 (WBC) boxer Erickson Lubin. That’s a solid match-up and a great way for Tszyu to make his American debut. Yet, in the end, we’ll just have to wait and see what’s next for the man from the land down under!
By: Bakari Simpson
