Multiple boxing world champions were in action on Wednesday in Australia and Japan, but fans in North America didn’t have too many options for live viewing. NY Fights has your midweek boxing highlights.
Tim Tszyu: ‘I’m back!’
Nine years to the day after his professional debut, Tim Tszyu got a badly needed victory with a dominating decision win over Anthony Velazquez of Springfield, Massachusetts at home in Sydney, Australia. Scorecards were 100-90 twice and 99-91.
The former world champion now sports a new nickname, “The Phoenix,” and a new trainer in Pedro Diaz of Miami. With the win, Tszyu’s career gets a transfusion of new potential in the competitive super welterweight division.
Tszyu (26-3, 18 KOs) handed Velazquez his first loss (18-1-1, 15 KOs). Tszyu worked behind the jab, starting patiently before landing combinations to the body in the third round, taking control and forcing Velasquez to retreat. Tszyu opened a nasty cut on Velazquez, a little retribution for the cuts Tszyu has endured, notably in his first fight with Sebastian Fundora.
“I really wanted to feel comfortable in there, not try to go for the KO and get reckless,” said Tszyu. “I’ve got all the skills in the world, I just need to apply them.
After the fight, Tszyu made it clear he is focused on regaining a world title. “I’ve got the belts in my mind, but one step at a time. It’s a long road. I have a great team behind me and with me. You never know where we can go. Buckle in and enjoy the ride.
Tszyu said he heard the questions all week asking whether he’d retire if is loss. “No. I’m fucking back guys, I’m fucking back.”
It was a good week for trainer Pedro Diaz, who got his first win training Tszyu, and also saw his cruiserweight Noel Mikaelian score a win to get his WBC title back on Saturday in Los Angeles. Tszyu hopes to get a spot on an upcoming Las Vegas undercard to advance his cause on familiar turf.
Tsutsumi Snatches Victory from Donaire
Seiya Tsutsumi of Japan defended his WBA World Bantamweight title in a close split decision win over the legendary Nonito Donaire in Tokyo. Donaire (43-9, 28 KOs) is now 43 years old and more than held his own in a competitive, action-packed fight against the 29-year-old champion Tsutsumi (13-0-3, 8 KO).
Tsutsumi had to rally himself in the later rounds to get the win after a strong start for Donaire, who is still highly competitive with his formidable left hook on display. Donaire barely missed out on a fourth championship in the bantamweight division with scores of 117-111 and 115-113 for Tsutsumi; 116-112 for Donaire.
It was Donaire’s strongest performance since his knockout loss to Naoya Inoue in 2022. While he may be urged to retire, he is still competitive at the highest level should he decide to carry on.
Anthony Olascuaga Retains Title
In his fourth title defense, Anthony Olascuaga of Los Angeles successfully defended his WBO World Flyweight championship with a fourth-round TKO win on Wednesday at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
Olascuaga (11-1, 8 KOs) battered Kuwahara (14-3, 9 KOs) throughout the fight with overwhelming offensive output, landing a series of power punches that left Kuwahara virtually unable to respond. In the fourth round, Olascuaga swarmed Kuwajara, leaving him defenseless in a corner of the ring and forcing referee Robert Hoyle to step in and stop the fight. It was his third title defense in 2025.
Following the fight, a photo surfaced on social media of Olasguaga taking the Tokyo subway back to his hotel, belt in hand.
In a unification title fight, René Santiago of Puerto Rico defeated Kyosuke Takami of Japan by split decision to win the WBA and WBO Light Flyweight World Titles. Scores were 117-111 and 115-114 for Santiago, 116-112 for Takami.
Cardena vs Robles Headlines ProBox Card on Thursday
ProBox TV wishes boxing fans “Merry Fistmas” with a card coming from the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday with some guaranteed action matchups worth watching.
In the 10-round main event, Ramon Cardenas of San Antonio, Texas, returns to face Erik Robles of Ensenada, Mexico. Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs) lost in May by knockout to Naoya Inoue, but not before he rocked the undisputed champion with a knockdown and won the respect of Inoue and the fans with his performance. Robles (16-3, 10 KOs) has lost two of his last three fights, one of them also a title fight against Liam Davies in England.
Tokyo Olympic Gold Medalist Hebert Conceicao of Brazil (9-0, 5 KOs) takes on Mexican spoiler Elias Espadas (23-7-1, 16 KOs in the super middleweight co-feature.
Also on the card, super lightweights “Marvelous” Mykquan Williams of Harford, Connecticut (22-1-2, 11 KOs) and Jair Valtierra of Mexico (18-3, 9 KOs) are scheduled for ten rounds. In an eight-round Future Stars Series bout, it’s middleweights Yojanler Martinez of Cuba (5-0-1, 2 KOs) and Joeshon James of Sacramento (9-1-2, 5 KOs). Opening the card are
Bryan Polaco of Puerto Rico (7-0, 5 KOs) takes on Marlon Harrington (12-2, 10 KOs) from Detroit.
All fighers made weight on Wednesday. The card gets underway with prelims at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. ProBoxTV is available on a wide range of platforms and including ProBoxTV’s YouTube and YouTube Espanol Channels, Amazon, Amazon Prime, Roku, Tubi, Pluto, Swerve TV Combat, Swerve Sports, Fubo TV, Fubo Sports YouTube Channel, Google TV, LG Channels, Plex, SLING TV, Samsung, and Vizio.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist and the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). She is the Managing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.