Bakhram Murtazaliev’s demolition of Tim Tszyu didn’t destroy the former WBO junior middleweight champion’s competitive spirit.

The Australian star still thinks he could beat Murtazaliev if given a second opportunity. If he were to secure a rematch with the rugged Russian, however, Tszyu would not agree to the rehydration restriction required of all champions and challengers who participate in IBF title fights.

The WBA, WBC and WBO don’t place caps on how much weight fighters can add after they make weight either the morning or afternoon before they compete. The IBF doesn’t allow them to add more than 10 pounds above their division’s limit at second-day weigh-ins that typically take place mid-morning on the day of an IBF championship match.

There is no limit to how much weight a champion or challenger can add after meeting his or her obligation at an IBF second-day weigh-in and the time a championship bout begins. Its 10-pound rehydration restriction isn’t required for title unification fights in which an IBF belt and that of another sanctioning organization are at stake.

Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs) – who will fight Joey Spencer on Sunday afternoon at Newcastle Entertainment Centre in Newcastle, Australia – didn’t specify how much he weighed when he stepped on the Florida Athletic Commission’s scale the morning of October 19. The Sydney native told a small group of reporters during a Zoom interview session this week that he believes not adding as much weight as usual before he met Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) put him at a disadvantage.

“For sure, I’d love to get that rematch going,” Tszyu said. “But one thing I wouldn’t do is the rehydration clause [for IBF title fights]. I wasn’t used to it. Usually, my weight’s a bit higher [in] previous [fights]. So, yeah, again, that was another thing that could’ve affected [me]. And it was sorta like the first punch you got hit with and you couldn’t recover straight away, so that was always in the back of my head as well.”

Tszyu officially weighed 153½ pounds October 18, slightly more than Murtazaliev, who came in at 152¾ pounds. Murtazaliev stands almost 6 feet, approximately three inches taller than Tszyu.

It is not known how much Murtazaliev or Tszyu weighed when the opening bell rang at Caribe Royale Orlando. What was obvious was Tszyu’s inability to take Murtazaliev’s power or recover from the powerful champion’s onslaught.

Murtazaliev first floored Tszyu with a left hook that knocked him to the seat of his trunks 38 seconds into the second round.

A disoriented Tszyu didn’t hold and couldn’t keep Murtazaliev at a distance once he got up from that first knockdown. He went down twice more in the second round and once in the third round.

Referee Christopher Young halted their 12-round title fight after Tszyu hit the canvas for the fourth time.

The 30-year-old Tszyu will face a lighter puncher than Murtazaliev in Spencer (19-1, 11 KOs) and is therefore favored by an 8-1 margin by DraftKings over the Michigan-based boxer. Their 10-round junior middleweight match will headline a four-fight show streamed by Amazon’s Prime Video on Saturday night in the United States (10 p.m. ET; 7 p.m. PT).

“Well, look, I’m hoping for an easier day,” Tszyu said of his first fight since he lost to Murtazaliev. “But you never know, you know, with my type of style and my type of mentality what comes on fight night or comes in the future.”