Fenech blows Horn trumpet after big show
BEFORE Wednesday night’s bruising fight with Ben Horn, Nikita Tszyu had only been in the ring for just under eight minutes in his first two professional fights.
Neither had gone past two rounds, with Tszyu quickly earning a reputation for his finishing prowess that had seen him take out Mason Smith and Aaron Stahl with ease.
Horn was supposed to be just the latest in what could be a long list of fighters to fall victim to his punching power. But Horn had other ideas.
Despite connecting with 93 body shots, Tszyu was pushed the distance and Horn even threatened to knock him out in the last round, leaving Jeff Fenech stunned. “This is the performance of his life,” Fenech said of Horn on Fox Sports coverage of the fight.
“I’m shocked. I totally didn’t expect this. What a great performance from Ben Horn, I take my hat off to you.”
Ben Damon called it an “absolute body-punching clinic” from Tszyu but Horn said postfight that he was so well-conditioned that he even started sledging his rival.
“I always knew it was going to go the distance,” Horn said.
“Funny enough, I was telling him in the sixth round: ‘Is that all you got to the body? I think they’re soft Nikita, come on. Is that what you drop people with? Put it on!’ I think it made him a little bit angry.”
But few people gave Horn a chance of taking it the distance, let alone past the opening few rounds.
“Ben Horn has won over so many fans,” Damon said.
“Anyone who doubted he deserved to be a part of this fight, you were wrong. He just showed he is made of something else.”
Fenech admitted he was one of those people.
It is the kind of adversity Tszyu has not had to face this early in his career, something which Fenech said “can do nothing but good for Nikita”.