'Was like road kill': Boxing world reacts as 'classic' Tim Tszyu returns against Joey Spencer
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Tim Tszyu's win over Joey Spencer has put the Australian superstar back on track, with one boxing great describing it as a "classic" performance.
After back-to-back losses last year, the 30-year-old made light work of his American rival, earning a fourth-round stoppage on Sunday afternoon.
Tszyu started out slowly - which was by design - before upping the ante once the opportunity presented itself and never looked back.
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Tim Tszyu after his win against Joey Spencer. Getty
In front of a raucous crowd in Newcastle, the local hero poured on the pain with a flurry of punches up against the ropes, forcing Spencer's team to throw in the towel.
Speaking on the Main Event broadcast, former world champion Shawn Porter heaped praise on Tszyu for getting the proverbial monkey off his back.
"Based on what was in front of Tim tonight, he did not only exactly what he was supposed to do, but exactly how he was supposed to do it," Porter said.
"There were no big storms coming from Joey but he landed and stayed poised, stayed calm ... then when he found the moment, he went for it.
"This was classic Tim and I loved the hand speed. It doesn't always have to be the one big punch that finishes them, sometimes you make the ref do what he's supposed to.
"He made his dad do what he was supposed to do [throw in the towel]."
Tszyu is now on a collision course with Keith Thurman, urging the brash American to "sign the contract" during his post-fight interview.
The reaction on social media was positive when it came to Tszyu - despite some "improvements" flagged for his road to redemption - but the same positivity wasn't there for Spencer, who looked out of his depth in the biggest test of his career.
Thurman and Tszyu are expected to do battle on Australian soil later this year and a win for the second-gen star could put him back on the road to a world title.
Sebastian Fundora - the man who ended Tszyu's undefeated record - holds two of the belts at super-welterweight, while Bakhram Murtazaliev holds another.
One of the world's best pound-for-pound fighters, Terence Crawford, is also in possession of gold in the hotly-contested division.
