Nikita Tszyu’s opponent taken to hospital in wake of brutal barrage

Tasmanian boxer Bo Belbin was hospitalised in the hours following his punishing TKO loss to Nikita Tszyu.

Belbin complained his head and body didn’t feel quite right after the defeat having suffered a barrage of strikes from his 25-year-old rival.

After being observed by medical staff, he was cleared to leave hospital and returned back to his hotel on Sunday evening before flying out of Sydney on Monday morning.

The 31-year-old, who was a major outsider heading into the fight with the bookies, displayed a tremendous amount of grit and toughness throughout the fight against his younger adversary.

Belbin even landed a solid right hand that forced Tszyu’s right eye to swell up and almost shut towards the end of the bout

However, Tszyu weathered the early storm and came out strongest, stopping Belbin in the fourth round as the Tasmanian continued to absorb a worrying amount of strikes without returning serve.

It was the fourth stoppage victory in Tszyu’s fledgling boxing career, with Main Event’s Jeff Fenech, Paul Kent and Alexander Volkanovski all in agreement it was the youngster’s best performance to date.

However, it wasn’t completely flawless given Tszyu had to fight through a rapidly-swelling right eye, which came from a Belbin strike that was “kind of a shock.”

“But it’s good that it hit me on the top of the head, not the chin,” Tszyu said.

“The first round was supposed to be a feel out round but we kind’ve got in a firefight. And I learned you don’t get in a firefight with this guy, the boxing ability can take care of it.

“And once I felt comfortable with the jab things started to follow.”