'No way': Tszyu believed fight would be stopped after cut

A "devastated" Tim Tszyu has admitted he thought his super welterweight title bout against Sebastian Fundora was going to be stopped after he sustained a deep cut to his forehead that bled profusely.

Tszyu suffered the first defeat in his professional career after falling short in a split decision by the judges.

The Australian looked comfortable in the first two rounds of the 12-round blockbuster before he collided with a stray elbow from Fundora, causing a nasty gash.

AS IT HAPPENED: Tszyu vs Fundora round-by-round recap

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The wound bled heavily with Tszyu's corner unable to stem the flow. As a result, the 29-year-old's vision was significantly impacted as he attempted to wipe the blood from his eyes.

Speaking afterwards, Tszyu explained that he could see "nothing" for "the whole fight" because of the blood spilling down his face.

He confessed that the cut was so bad, he anticipated the fight being called off after the second round.

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"I don't want to make excuses up but the cut was quite frustrating," Tszyu told Main Event.

"In my head I thought, 'No way they can continue this'.

"I haven't really seen the replay yet so I'm curious to see how big it actually was and how much because there was a lot of blood."

Tszyu was asked repeatedly if he wanted to continue and never looked like abandoning the bout on his own accord.

When asked if the fight should have been stopped for his welfare, Tszyu shared a different perspective.

"Nah, nah," he said, shaking his head.

"Everything was working on instinct. I could see his shots and was eliminating them all.

"He was catching me with a few jabs and a few crosses, but nothing was phasing me."

With a huge shift in momentum after Tszyu sustained the cut, it was difficult to pick who had won the fight at the final bell.

One judge voted 116-112 in favour of Tszyu, but the other cards read 116-112 and 115-113 in favour of Fundora.

"After every fight when it goes 12 rounds, I don't really know," Tszyu said of the tight result of the clash.

"I asked (my trainer) Igor, 'Did we win?' And he tells me, 'It could've gone either way'.

"I was landing the crisper shots apparently, he was landing more of the volume punches."

Tszyu appeared emotional when Main Event's Ben Damon congratulated him on his efforts

"You can't congratulate me because I lost," Tszyu said in response.

"If it ain't a win, I'm not satisfied. And I'm quite devastated. It is what it is."

Tszyu had his head wound treated backstage, receiving 10 stitches, and told media he would take several weeks off to rest and recover before getting back into training.

A second bout with Fundora is likely with a rematch clause written into the fight's contract.

"If we want to take it (rematch) we'll take it and I'd love to see Tim win the belt straight back," promoter George Rose said afterwards.