Mahoney and Tszyu fight to split draw in IBF eliminator

Ben Mahoney produced a career-best performance against Nikita Tszyu on Wednesday night, yet left the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre with only a split draw after 12 rounds in their IBF super welterweight eliminator. The result leaves the path to a title shot against champion Josh Kelly unclear and sparked immediate controversy, particularly after Tszyu initially admitted he believed Mahoney had won.

The official scores were 115-113 for Mahoney, 114-114, and an unusually wide 117-111 for Tszyu. The final card was difficult to reconcile with a fight in which Mahoney won the early rounds, remained competitive through the middle portion, and ended strongly. A clash of heads opened a cut above Tszyu’s right eye in the third round, but the injury did not prevent him from taking portions of the middle rounds. However, he never established sustained command.

Mahoney found an effective solution to Tszyu’s southpaw stance, using his jab to set the distance and moving outside Tszyu’s lead foot. Tszyu responded by attacking the body with digging left hands, but Mahoney rarely allowed him to work without responding. The final four rounds strengthened Mahoney’s case as he...