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Max Sherry
Australia has a new world champion.
Tim Tszyu, the son of boxing royalty Kostya, has defeated Tony Harrison to clinch the interim WBO super-welterweight championship.
The hometown hero will now face undisputed king of the 154-pound division Jermell Charlo in what promises to be a mouth-watering clash.
Fighting on home soil at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena, Tszyu put on a show for the fans to keep his perfect, unblemished record in tact.
Despite a tentative opening spell, Tszyu quickly took control of the fight and ended it with a TKO stoppage in round nine courtesy of some brutal uppercuts.
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But even before his masterful display inside the ring, the Aussie's ring walk alone got everyone inside the stadium up on their feet.
Coming out to The Notorious BIG's classic tune 'Hypnotize', Tszyu had an entrance fitting of a champion.
But when the first bell rung, it was Harrison who came out firing, heaping the pressure on Tszyu.
But to the 28-year-old's credit, he held in there and withstood the American's early bombardment – picking his shots with precision to catch Harrison on the counter.
In the third round, the tide well and truly turned when Tszyu rocked Harrison badly.
While Tszyu's jab and left hook were initially doing most damage, it was a big right hand which caught Harrison flush on the chin and made him pretty wobbly.
He did recover, however, although the momentum was to remain with the Aussie until the half-way point.
Into the sixth, seventh and eighth round, Harrison was doing well to stick and move which left Tszyu growing visibly frustrated.
But in the ninth, Tszyu's patience paid off.
With a barrage of punches coming his way, Harrison was unable to slip them any more and eventually got caught with a few clean uppercuts.
Stumbling against the ropes, Tszyu landed the killer blow which sent his opponent crashing to the canvas.
Although Harrison was able to stand back up, the referee had no choice but to wave the fight off.
Tszyu made a statement, simply asking the crowd during his post fight interview: "What's my name?"
To which they responded: "TSZYUUUU!"