Nikita Tszyu vs Ben Mahoney: Controversial Draw Sparks Debate

Matt Rose has moved to shore up No Limit Boxing’s reputation after the storm that followed Nikita Tszyu’s brutal, controversial draw with Ben Mahoney – and the pointed threat that any rematch would not take place on a No Limit show.

The IBF super-welterweight world-title eliminator in Brisbane on Wednesday was supposed to clarify the pecking order among Australia’s unbeaten 154-pounders. Instead, it detonated a debate.

Three judges. Three wildly different scorecards.

Veteran official Phillip Holliday, a former world champion who once beat Jeff Fenech, saw it 117-111 to Tszyu, giving the house favourite nine of the 12 rounds. At the other end of the spectrum, Sabrina Kerr scored it 115-113 to Mahoney. The decider, Carl Zappia, landed in the middle with a 114-114 card.

The announcement was met with a wall of noise. Mahoney’s home crowd, who had roared him on as he walked through punishment in the middle rounds and finished with Tszyu’s face marked and swollen, unloaded with jeers.

Then came the flashpoint.

In raw, emotional scenes in the ring, Tszyu admitted Mahoney had been the better boxer on the night. No Limit boss George Rose, stung by comments from Mahoney’s corner, snapped. He declared he wanted to “slap the s*** out of someone” and invited anyone booing to meet him “out front” to “sort it out”.

By the time the fighters reached the press conference, the tone had shifted. Tszyu wound back his in-ring admission, explaining he was simply frustrated with his own lack of ruthlessness rather than conceding the fight.

The temperature in the room did not drop for long.

Mahoney’s promoter, Mick Francis – a direct rival to No Limit and the man behind Jai Opetaia and Justis Huni – revealed he would push for an official review of Holliday’s card.

“Phil Holliday, I don’t know what he was watching … those scores were way wide and I’m going to make an official inquiry about it because that’s not right,” Francis said, tapping into a sense of grievance that has followed Mahoney before. His previous appearance on a No Limit card had also ended in a contentious draw.

Mahoney, still respectful towards Tszyu but clearly wounded by the verdict, laid out the personal cost.

“We’re going to have to look at our [rematch] options; I’m open to it but it sure as hell isn’t going to be on another No Limit card,” he said.

“I don’t want to throw any officials or judges under the bus. But athletes put their lives on the line for this. I just had a baby and have been in the gym for eight weeks of 14 weeks of her life.”

George Rose skipped the press conference, leaving his brother and No Limit co-founder Matt Rose, alongside Tszyu’s long-time manager Glen Jennings, to front the fallout.

Matt Rose confirmed there had been “a couple of comments made in the ring” that set George off, but he did not shy away from the prospect of scrutiny on the judging. He welcomed it.

“I’d be happy for them to challenge because I don’t think the scorecard of 115-113 was right at all,” he said.

“And that would mean Nikita wins the fight.

“But we’ll accept the draw. At the end of the day, I’m not going to complain about the 115-113. That’s the decision they made and that’s how they saw it.”

That stance was conciliatory. His response to Mahoney’s vow to never again fight on a No Limit promotion was anything but.

Told of the jab, Rose bristled.

“What, it’s going to be on a Tasman card in front of 200 people?” he fired back. “Who would stage it then?

“Please don’t try to diminish what we do in the sport. The shows we put on are the best in the country.

“If people are going to be critical of judging, it has nothing to do with us whatsoever.”

No Limit’s grip on the Australian market is significant. The company holds exclusive broadcast rights with Fox Sports and Main Event, and has built a reputation on big arenas, high-profile match-ups and the Tszyu name at the top of the bill.

That’s why this result cuts deeper than a messy scorecard. It has bled into questions of trust, power and where Australia’s biggest domestic fights should land.

The fight itself deserves its own space in that conversation. Tszyu, the aggressive, TV-friendly star, poured on heavy fire through the middle rounds. Mahoney refused to fold, rallied late and finished the stronger man, his stock rising even as his record officially stayed unbeaten.

The judges could not agree. The crowd made its verdict clear. The promoters have drawn their lines.

If there is a rematch – and the styles, the drama and the unfinished business demand one – the next battle may be fought just as fiercely in boardrooms and broadcast meetings as it is under the lights.