Australia's Tim Tszyu suffers a shock defeat to Bakhram Murtazaliev in their super welterweight bout | Boxing

Australian boxing star Tim Tszyu suffered a shock defeat in his vaunted IBF super welterweight title in Florida, destroyed within three rounds by unbeaten Russian Bakhram Murtazaliev.

Tszyu appeared to have suffered a cut midway through the first round as Murtazaliev's jab did early damage. Things got even worse for the Australian in the second round as the taller Russian used his height advantage to rip combinations into Tszyu's body.

When Murtazaliev knocked Tszyu down three times in the second round alone, the fight was all but over. Tszyu came out for the third time but was dazed and stumbling all over the ring, his defense almost non-existent.

When the referee refused to stop the fight, the official doctor intervened. The ring medic allowed Tszyu to continue fighting, but when the Australian was sent to the canvas for the fourth time, his corner threw in the towel.

“Every time I step into the ring, I’m ready to die here,” a shaken Tszyu said after the loss. “No excuses. Boxing isn't supposed to be perfect, but you live and learn. After the first shot, things didn’t go according to plan.”

Tszyu had applied for his father Kostya's Hall of Famer induction as he was only the second father and son to win two world titles. Multiple world champion Kostya was in Florida and watched ringside for the first time after a decade of separation from his sons.

Tim and Kostya met again in Thailand this May. But that reunion took a bitter and unexpected turn when the 29-year-old Australian was knocked out within three rounds, his second straight defeat after opening his career with 23 wins.

After the victory, Murtazaliev salted the wound of the Tszyu family. Hoisted onto his team's shoulders, the Russian could be heard yelling, “Who's your daddy now?”

Tszyu, who grew up in Sydney, had been trying to recover from a bloody defeat to Sebastian Fundora in March, in which a large wound on his forehead obscured his vision and, despite coming through the fight bravely, he suffered the first defeat of his career .

He was scheduled to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. in August, but the fight was canceled on medical advice because Tszyu needed more time for the cut on his head to heal. Now its reputation – and its future as a global attraction – has suffered a major blow.