Aussie fighter Brock Jarvis suffered a brutal third-round knockout by Keith Thurman on Wednesday night.
Thurman floored Jarvis with a flurry of punches in the middle of the round landing several brutal punches on his abdomen.
The American attacked, landing a belting blow on Jarvis’ temple, before swiping a strong left hook on the Aussie, sending him to the floor.
Jarvis, 27, returned to his feet and had tried to fight on but the fight was waved off by the referee.
It came after Brendan Bradford of Code Sports revealed on X that legendary fighter and trainer, Jeff Fenech, who had appeared to have parted company from Jarvis a month before the fight, ‘walked through the barricades, grabbed a chair and is now sitting ringside’.
Fenech became emotional on Tuesday when he discussed the deterioration of his and Jarvis’ training partnership, adding that there was a chance he might still jump the barriers and be in the corner for his prodigy – despite no longer being a part of the fighter’s coaching set up.
Thurman, meanwhile, extended his fight record to 31-1-0, with this being his first fight in three years following his unanimous decision victory against Mario Barrios.
It was also his first knockout in over 10 years with the US fighter, 36, subsequently calling out Aussie fighter Tim Tszyu.
He was the second fighter to issue a challenge to Tszyu this evening after Michael Zerafa respectfully sounded out his compatriot for what he dubbed would be ‘the biggest fight in Australian boxing.’
Thurman, meanwhile, said: ‘I just raised the bar on you, Tszyu.
‘That’s three years of inactivity, you see what I can do? I came back hard baby.
‘You better believe that American fighters don’t get knocked down by anyone.
‘Tim Tszyu, I look forward to fighting anyone in the world of boxing. If that contract manifests, you know what I’m gonna do. Send the contract, I’ll sign it. I’ll be happy to take the fight.’
Tszyu was seen on the big screen in the stadium holding his finger up to his mouth telling the American to be quiet.
The Australian will first fight Joey Spencer next month before he looks ahead to a potential meeting with Thurman.
‘I’ve got business to do on April 6, but I’m pretty psyched,’ he said.
‘He [Thurman] comes in swinging, and when you have a pure boxer, you can exploit that.
‘But, easier said than done. He’s a talent, and what he did tonight, it’s one hell of a performance.’
More to follow…
