Ben Mahoney denied by controversial draw

Mahoney believes he did enough to defeat Nikita Tszyu

Ben Mahoney delivered the best performance of his career against Nikita Tszyu, but ultimately came away with only a split draw. The judges’ public scorecards were 115–113 for Ben Mahoney, 114–114, and 117–11 for Nikita Tszyu. The third scorecard is particularly unusual, as that judge apparently saw Nikita Tszyu as being far ahead, even though his opponent Ben Mahoney delivered a consistently strong performance, especially early on. He found effective ways to counter his opponent and used his jabs very cleverly. Nikita Tszyu did respond with many attacks to the body, but Ben Mahoney rarely let him get in close. Nikita Tszyu also suffered a cut above his right eye from a clash of heads. That didn’t stop him from putting in good rounds in the middle, but he was never able to establish true dominance. The final rounds were marked by Ben Mahoney taking advantage of his opponent’s declining punch output to launch some serious attacks of his own. Ben Mahoney himself said afterward that he believes he won the fight.

“I do believe I won that fight. I thought I came home nice and strong. He’s a f***ing warrior. All the respect for him”

he told PerthNow.

However, there are also reasons why the judges’ scores differed so widely. Nikita Tszyu’s forward momentum and hard punches made a stronger visual impression, but Ben Mahoney frequently landed the better combinations and dictated the pace with his jab. A judge who placed greater emphasis on punching power might have seen Nikita Tszyu as the winner. Still, it’s surprising that he saw him ahead for nine rounds, as that somewhat ignores the constant pressure from Ben Mahoney. Even Nikita Tszyu said afterward that he saw his opponent ahead by 1–2 rounds and actually believes his opponent narrowly won the fight. In any case, the draw leaves the IBF without a clear winner who should have faced Josh Kelly. A rematch would definitely make sense here. Until then, though, the underdog Ben Mahoney is already providing more reasons to pick him.