Australian junior middleweight champion Nikita ‘The Butcher’ Tszyu (9-0, 7 KOs) will make the second defense of his national crown when he takes on Koen Mazoudier (12-3-1, 5 KOs) in late August.
The venue and date for the No Limit pay-per-view show are yet to be determined, but Sydney and Newcastle are the frontrunners to host the event.
The fight announcement was made during the telecast of Sam Goodman’s super bantamweight fight against Chainoi Worawut at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong, New South Wales on Wednesday night.
“We were actually were meant to fight in the amateurs one time, back in 2016, but I got an illness an couldn’t actually fight that day… it’s good that we’re finally able to get it going,” the 26-year-old Tsyzu said during the Main Event pay-per-view broadcast.
Mazoudier, 28, from Blacktown in Sydney’s west, was expected to face Tszyu in April before suffering a perforated eardrum in his fifth-round stoppage victory over Travis Druce in March.
Tszyu went on to face Danilo Creati instead, pitching a virtual shutout despite being stunned in the sixth frame of their 10 round contest.
“It’s an exciting fight,” said Mazoudier. “I respect Nikita as a fighter, as a person, he’s the current Australian champion, so I’m looking forward to getting in there.”
Nikita Tszyu (right) goes on the attack against Danilo Creati – Photo courtesy of No Limit Boxing
Southpaw Tszyu will head to America next week alongside his brother, former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu, to began camp at the Split T Boxing Club in Las Vegas.
“It’s one of those mouth-watering match-ups we’re lucky to have for Nikita,” No Limit CEO George Rose told CODE Sports.
“I’ve always been a fan of Mazoudier and he’s never been in a bad fight. Nikita Tszyu’s never been in a bad fight either.
“This one’s exciting and it’s a worthy defense against Mazoudier.”
Tsyzu has been building a good body of work since turning professional two years ago. His aggressive, entertaining style is made for TV and his defensive vulnerabilities only add to that excitement.
“I’m just happy to get going again. I’ve had a little time off, a little bit of a rest. The itchiness is back to fight,” said Tszyu, who has boxed just once this year after four bout apiece in 2022 and 2023.
Mazoudier is a seasoned campaigner who has been competitive even in defeat. He reversed his stoppage loss to Wade Ryan with a decision victory in their rematch and holds a brace of wins of Tszyu’s stablemate Joel Camilleri.
“The experience will be a factor, but Nikita has beaten a couple of experienced guys,” said Mazoudier, who trains out of the same Central Coast gym as Goodman under the same coach, Joel Keegan.
“I definitely think I’ll bring something Nikita hasn’t seen before in the professional ranks, but he comes with a very experienced team who know what they’re doing. They’re going to be prepared for everything, the same as me. I think we’ll have some fun in there.”
Tszyu and Mazoudier have been on each other’s radar for a long time.
“This is probably the most exciting fight for Australian boxing this year within our division,” said Tszyu.
“We grew up with each other in the sport of boxing. He was there for my first tournament, for Australian titles back in 2013 or 2014. We’ve known each other since day one.
“But there’s no friends in boxing.”
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