Live boxing: Thurman earns third-round TKO of Jarvis

It’s a thrill for me to see someone of Thurman’s class live.

It took him a couple of rounds to really warm to the task, but once the ring rust was shaken off, he is just too good.

“One Time” floored Jarvis with a mid-round flurry; first he hurt the Aussie with some outstanding work to the body and then went upstairs. The right-left combo that floored Jarvis would have levelled anyone in the division.

Jarvis got back to his feet and tried to fight on, but he was gone. The referee mercifully stopped proceedings after a second knockdown.

What a performance.

Another close round, although I’ve given this one to Thurman.

The American is just starting to find his range with the jab. Jarvis certainly isn’t overawed and is prepared to come forward, it feels like he’s got the power to hurt Thurman if he lands.

However, the veteran got the better of the exchanges.

I give that to Thurman 10-9.

Good start for Jarvis.

Both fighters felt each other out for the first minute-and-a-half, before Jarvis unloaded with a nice combination. It felt like the local had the better of it, even though Thurman landed late.

You’ve got to remember that Thurman has had only one fight in five years, I expect him to get better as this progresses.

I give the opening round 10-9 to Jarvis.

As Thurman and Jarvis are introduced to the crowd, here are some pics from Zerafa’s win …

So that’s all the prelims out of the way, now time for the main event.

This is a massive moment for Jarvis. A win here ensures he has a hall-of-famer on his curriculum vitae. A loss and his hopes of a world title shot evaporate.

Jarvis seemingly has all the ingredients for success; rock-star looks, heavy hands (22 wins, 20 knockouts) and just the one loss. However, that defeat, to fellow Australian Liam Paro, has raised questions about whether he is genuinely world class.

“The way this fight’s gonna go is Keith’s an old man now,” Jarvis said this week.

“He’s not the same as what he used to be. He thinks he’s the same, but he’s not.

“He’s coming off some big injuries and he’s gonna really struggle, get back in there. So I’m gonna hit him and I am gonna hurt him and it’s gonna be interesting to see how he reacts to it.”

The fighters have just made their way to centre ring (Jarvis’ walk-out song was Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart”).

Here. We. Go.

“I wanted to come in here. I always played the villain, you guys booed me and I love it … but I got the job done.

“I think I broke my hand in the second round … then I started headhunting to get his chin. It is what it is.”

Asked about the prospect of a fight against Tszyu after his hand heals, Zerafa said: “That’s the biggest fight in Australia.”

That win earns Zerafa the vacant WBO inter-continental middleweight title.

Well there you go.

I wanted to see Zerafa step it up and he has just done that. “Pretty Boy” has just won a TKO decision in the seventh round.

It was set up with a gorgeous uppercut, followed by a right hand that left Ay sprawling on the canvas.

The German bravely got back up to his feet, but probably wishes he didn’t. He copped more punishment before the referee stepped in and stopped it.

That’s the statement victory Zerafa was seeking.

Ok folks, we’re at the halfway point (five of 10 rounds done) in the Zerafa-Ay contest.

Zerafa is well on top, on his way to a pretty comfortable victory unless the German can come up with something special in the second half of this fight.

It often feels like Zerafa is fighting within himself, just doing enough to earn a points victory. Would love to see him finish strongly.