Tim Tszyu initially tried to hold Bakhram Murtazaliev after a left hook dropped him to the seat of his trunks 38 seconds into the second round of their junior middleweight title fight.

Murtazaliev maneuvered out of Tszyu’s grasp quickly. A disoriented Tszyu then basically abandoned his instinct to clinch. The gutsy Aussie instead attempted to do what he does best – fight.

The problem, unfortunately for Tszyu, is that trading with Murtazaliev in the second round prevented the former WBO 154-pound champion from regaining his senses and getting his legs back under him. Murtazaliev made him pay by blasting Tszyu with various punishing punches that dropped him twice more in the second round.

A fourth knockdown during the third round caused referee Christopher Young to save Tszyu from himself. A concussed Tszyu asked a group of reporters and videographers afterward, “What the f*ck just happened? Like, what did I get hit with?”

As he prepared to return Saturday night from that devastating defeat, Sydney’s Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs) reflected on what he learned from mishandling the most trouble he has ever encountered in a boxing ring versus Russia’s Murtazaliev.

“Probably to be able to regroup, to be able to try and recover, you know, and not just lose your mind straight away,” Tszyu said to a small group of reporters during a Zoom interview Wednesday night. “I think it’s tough when you’ve felt something you’ve never felt before. Like I’ve been down before, but I usually am sweet.

“But that time it was like I couldn’t feel my legs the whole time. So, in my head I was like, ‘Oh, that’s it.’ You know, and like, ‘Let’s just turn it up and put the pressure on, and whatever happens, happens.’ And, you know, you can’t come with that mentality. And you sorta have to go back to the roots, and back to stick and boxing, and move and keep your hands up and not just – be more strategic.”

Tszyu might’ve given himself a chance to recover if he didn’t try to bang with Murtazaliev following that first knockdown 5½ months ago at Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida. The 30-year-old contender made Murtazaliev’s job easier by trading hard shots with the taller, fresher IBF junior middleweight champion.

Joey Spencer, Tszyu’s opponent Saturday night in Newcastle, Australia, doesn’t punch as hard as Murtazaliev. Spencer (19-1, 11 KOs) is a capable boxer, but Tszyu, an 8-1 favorite according to DraftKings, still believes he can come back from consecutive losses to WBC/WBO 154-pound champ Sebastian Fundora (22-1-1, 14 KOs) and Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) last year by beating Michigan’s Spencer.

“My confidence is up there,” Tszyu said. “I’ve got no doubt in my ability, in myself. So, that’s never been a problem of mine. But yeah, these things happen and you learn and you’ve just gotta be better next time. It’s simple.”

Tszyu-Spencer is the main event of a four-fight show Amazon’s Prime Video will stream Saturday night in the United States (9 p.m. ET; 6 p.m. PT). The card will occur Sunday afternoon local time.

“It’s a big show here, you know?,” Tszyu said. “I’m glad to be back here in Australia. The fans really get behind [us]. The occasion’s big, the crowds are big, the fight weeks are big. It’s a big celebration here in Australia, so I’m glad to be able to do that with my supporters.”