While he fired plenty of verbal shots pre-fight, Hogan paid tribute to Tszyu as the pair embraced in the ring on Wednesday night, with the Australian 26-year-old having sent a message to the boxing world.<\/p>\n
"It was very respectful," Tszyu said post-fight. "He just said: 'The hype is real'."<\/p>\n
Tszyu's manager Glen Jennings added: "He said that to me, too, and it's a wonderful little statement.<\/p>\n
"I won't use the language but Dennis said, 'Yeah, the hype is real'. He was very respectful."<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hogan inflicted a cut to Tszyu's left eye but otherwise, it was a one-sided fight in which the Aussie brutalised the Irishman, going especially hard on his body. Hogan's corner threw in the towel<\/a> to save him needless damage.<\/p>\n Tszyu, the WBO's No.1 super-welterweight contender, joined a decorated list of fighters to have toppled Hogan. The Irishman's last defeat came against American star Jermall Charlo, fighting for the WBC world middleweight title.<\/p>\n Prior to that, he lost to Mexican fighter Jaime Munguia, in a bout for the WBO super-welterweight title. In 2016, he lost to German Jack Culcay while fighting for the WBA interim super-welterweight world title. He dropped to 28-4-1 (seven KOs) with his loss to Tszyu.<\/p>\n "I'm not satisfied," Tszyu said. "I want to be a global boxing star. <\/p>\n "That's my goal. It's always been my goal and I need those big guys. We're at that stage where I do believe I can compete with the big boys.<\/p>\n "Charlo got rid of Hogan in seven [rounds]. I do it in five. So my pace was a bit more quicker than Charlo's. I want an international fight. I want to be recognised globally."<\/p>\n Tszyu (18-0, 14 KOs) is hoping to fight WBO super-welterweight world champion Brian Castano, though the Argentinian is chasing a unification bout against Jermell Charlo; Jermall Charlo's identical twin brother, who is the current IBF, WBA, WBC and The Ring super-welterweight champion.<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n