/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23985505/acastro_STK024_01.jpg "Major Reddit Communities Will Shut Down To Protest Threat To Third-Party Apps")
With Tyson Fury watching from ringside, Tom Bellchambers sensationally scored a third-round knockout victory over Cam Mooney in their heavyweight showdown.
Bellchambers, who had a significant advantage in height, reach, weight and age, sent Mooney reeling into the ropes with a right hand in the final round of the three-round bout. Still on wobbly legs, a second right hand sent Mooney to the canvas for good.
The result sees Bellchambers set up a potential fight with former Carlton and Brisbane midfielder Mitch Robinson or NRL star Latrell Mitchell. Robinson and Mitchell have said they are willing to fight the winner.
After watching the knockout, Robinson says he denies wanting to fight the winner, citing a 35kg weight difference between himself and Bellchambers.
“I’d rather fight my mom than fight him,” he joked. “Maybe if he goes down to 85kg, we could.”
Despite wanting to have a few more fights, Bellchambers did not commit to any future opponents, let alone Mitchell.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I’m not sure,” she said, when asked about fighting the South Sydney superstar. “I’ve only been in the gym for three weeks. I’ll go back to the gym and we’ll see how it goes.”
The fight wasn’t polished, but it was set up, with both men aiming to meet Fury’s demands to “set off some fireworks.”
A right hand sent Mooney to the canvas in the first round, with the Cats beating the count and resuming.
Mooney landed some good shots, but Bellchambers’ height and reach advantage was telling throughout the three two-minute rounds.
Mooney was dropped again in the second round, but it was ruled a push, and the 43-year-old finished the frame by connecting with a hard one-two to the chin of Bellchambers.
The third round was pure chaos.
Mooney had some good moments, shaking Bellchambers momentarily, before the former Essendon ruckman scored the knockout.
“It was a whirlwind. In fact, he caught me with some good ones right before he stopped it,” Bellchambers said.
“I just kept my feet and landed one and it counted.”
Mooney has had a lot of combat experience since his football playing days, but he admitted that the 33-year age difference between the Bellchambers was telling.
“I’m 43 years old and I’ve checked it off my wish list,” Mooney said. “I have wanted to get into the ring for a long time and I finally did it. Probably at the wrong age, but I had a great time.”
SCROLL DOWN TO FOLLOW ALL THE ACTION AS IT HAPPENED FROM THE MARGARET COURT ARENA
10:00 PM: JOSEPH PARKER MAKES BIG STATEMENT IN MAJOR KO WIN
Joseph Parker has sent a message to the boxing world, knocking out Faiga ‘Django’ Opelu 70 seconds into their heavyweight grudge match in Melbourne.
Parker attacked the former Australian champion with a series of left hooks in the first 45 seconds.
But it was a vicious overhand right that landed next to Opelu’s chin that led to the knockout.
Django collapsed to the canvas, and by the time he recovered, the referee had called off the fight.
It’s Parker’s first knockout victory in three years and six fights, since a pre-Covid-era fifth-round TKO victory over Shawndell Winters.
Parker has been supported all week by WBC world champion Tyson Fury, with the Gypsy King walking to the ring with his big partner. Fury rushed to the ring after the stoppage and celebrated with Parker’s team.
“I thought it was a great performance and it shows how hard Joseph has been working,” Fury said.
“I’ve said there are levels, and Joe is a former heavyweight champion of the world and
“I would like to see the rematch with Andy Ruiz, Joe Joyce, Dillian Whyte or even AJ (Anthony Joshua). Fuck everyone, Joseph Parker is back!”
21:30: NIKITA TSZYU MAKES BEN BOMMBER PAY
Nikita Tszyu said it was personal, and delivered a merciless beating to Ben Bommer, stopping the Melbourneian in the first round of their super welterweight grudge fight.
Tszyu had promised to make Bomber pay for losing weight on Tuesday and he wasted no time in following through on his promise.
A barrage of furious punches sent Bombardier falling backwards into the ropes, and it was the beginning of the end.
Tszyu landed a big hook to Bomber’s chin, prompting the referee to step in and stop the action. Before he could, however, The Butcher landed two more punches, and Bomber and the referee collapsed to the canvas.
“I landed an uppercut that doubled him up a little bit,” Tszyu said of the finish. “I saw the victim and the hunter instinct in me went into kill mode.
“If I see someone hurt I want to hurt them. They’re just instincts.”
There was no love lost between the pair during the week of the fight. Bomber had been open about Tszyu for the last year and a half before losing weight.
Despite the bad blood, Tszyu was cheerful during his walkout, strutting into the ring of the Village People’s YMCA.
“I have to thank Glen (manager, Glen Jennings) for that,” Tszyu explained of his offbeat song choice. “He said I’m a peculiar kid, so he had a peculiar song for me.”
Tszyu’s older brother Tim was ringside and was one of the first to jump into the ring in jubilant celebration.
“I am a proud brother and Nikita did a great job,” Tim said. “I’m over the moon, he’s the man. He got hit with a shot but other than that a 10/10 performance.
“My dad fought at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne in 2004, almost 20 years ago. For Nikita to fight in Melbourne, it is an honor to carry on her legacy.
“I’m sure one day I’ll be back too.”
Showcasing his quirky nature, Nikita joked about who he wanted to fight next.
“There is one person in this field that I have had my eye on,” he said. “The Gypsy King, Tyson Fury, you are next.
“I don’t care if you’re a heavyweight, I’ll take your WBC title. I’m kidding, don’t kill me.
For the record, Fury seemed a little less than impressed when he was shown on the big screen.
However, Tszyu may already have his next opponent lined up, with Ben Horn, Jeff’s younger brother, calling for a rematch after Nikita won their first fight by decision last year.
“I got up off the couch and fought Nikita in three weeks,” he said. “I almost got angry.
“Maybe we could get a rematch.”
8:45 pm: THE HORN CAUSES A MASSIVE DISTURBANCE
Ben Horn is following in his older brother’s footsteps, digging deep to claim a hard-fought decision win over Joel Taylor.
With his older brother Jeff, who won the WBO world welterweight title in a bloody battle with Manny Pacquiao, in his corner, Horn dropped Taylor with a huge overhand left in the first round.
As Taylor came to his senses, the usually reserved Horn found a television camera in the corner and did a slash-throat action for the lens.
With Tyson Fury and UFC stars Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski watching from ringside, the 9-0 Taylor got up and hurt ‘The Hunter’ on multiple points over the next five rounds.
Horn received a unanimous decision and called out Nikita Tszyu, who fights Ben Bomber in the main event.
Horn dropped a one-sided, but punishing, decision to Tszyu last year.
“I got up off the couch and fought Nikita in three weeks,” he said. “I almost got angry.
“Maybe we could get a rematch.”
7:45 p.m.: CULT HERO WITH CHUCK TAYLOR WINS A BLOODY BATTLE
Isaias Sette, the cult favorite worn by Chuck Taylor, scored a bloody and brutal TKO victory over Campbell Somerville.
After taking some intense punishment, the Somerville corner was finally forced to throw in the towel to save their fighter in the fourth round.
Somerville’s face was covered in blood and he had significant swelling around his eyes.
Sette, 20, has become a cult among fight fans for wearing Chuck Taylor high tops while fighting.
Speaking to News Corp backstage, he even had a few extra pairs in a gear bag.
“These are my sparring, those are my every day,” he said. “I used to buy boxing shoes, but every six months my grip would wear out and I would have to buy new ones.
“One day I put on my Chuck Taylors, they were flat as boxing shoes and they worked.
“I competed in a ton of amateur fights and it turned into something.
“With my JD Sport staff discount, it’s $80. I’m not spending $400 on boxing boots.”
7:00 pm: UNDERCARD CONTROVERSY AFTER TKO DECISION DUE TO TERRIBLE HEAD CLASH
Jayde Mitchell says she will contest a controversial TKO decision in her middleweight bout with Max Reeves on the Joseph Parker vs. Faiga Opelu undercard.
The fight was stopped after a brutal head butt in the second round left a gruesome cut on Mitchell’s forehead, above his right eye.
It was the second headbutt of the fight, with the first also causing a small cut to Mitchell’s eye.
Mitchell attempted to continue, but the referee stopped the action and the ringside doctor evaluated the cut.
Controversy erupted when Reeves was announced the winner by a second-round TKO.
Officials ruled that one of the cuts was caused by a left hook. That cut, they said, was enough to end the fight.
“It was not. There were two butting heads,” Mitchell told News Corp afterwards. “He hit me with a left hook, but it was nothing.
“The cut on my forehead, that’s the one that was bleeding in my eye and causing a problem, not the little one.
“We are going to contest it and hopefully overturn it. So I want revenge.”
Originally published as Tom Bellchambers uses height and weight advantage to knock out Cameron Mooney
