Nikita Tszyu vs Ben Mahoney Preview August 26th, 2026
Two unbeaten Australians will be going at it for the WBO International Junior Middleweight Title this Wednesday, August 26th as Nikita Tszyu takes on Ben Mahoney. The 12-round bout from Queensland can be seen Down Under on Fox Sports, Main Event, and Kayo Sports. Tszyu, the son of former world champion Kostya Tszyu and the younger brother of Tim Tszyu, last fought in May when he halted Oscar Diaz after six rounds to claim the title. Mahoney was last in the ring in April when he beat Dan Hill via a 10-round unanimous decision to retain his IBF Pan Pacific Junior Middleweight Belt.
Tszyu vs Mahoney Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Ben Mahoney +391
- Nikita Tszyu -600
My Pick
The 28-year-old Tszyu is a southpaw who climbs into the ring with a perfect mark of 12-0 with 10 of those wins coming by knockout. He also has a no-contest on his record as Michael Zerafa claimed to the referee and ringside that he couldn’t see in the third round of their fight this January for the vacant WBO International Middleweight Crown. The two had clashed heads in the fight and most fans believe Zerafa simply took the easy way out of the contest.
In his previous outing in August, 2025 Tszyu he stopped Lulzim Ismaili after the first round for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Junior Middleweight Crown and a year earlier he halted Koen Mazoudier in the ninth round to capture the vacant IBF Australasian and WBO Inter-Continental Junior Middleweight Titles. Tszyu obviously carries plenty of power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 83.3 per cent and has halted eight of his last nine opponents, not including the no-contest against Zerafa.
The two men to go the distance with him were Danilo Creati over 10 rounds in 2024 and Ben Horn, who went six rounds with him in July, 2022 and dropped a six-round unanimous decision. Tszyu turned pro in March of 2022 and has just 57 rounds of experience under his belt since then. Before that, he enjoyed a brief amateur career which saw him capture the 2014 Australian National Championship in the 63 kilogram (139 lb) Junior Final. He also won the 2013 Junior Final in the 54 kilogram (119 lb) division. Tszyu hung up his gloves at the age of 16 to focus on his education and that’s why he didn’t make his pro debut until the age of 23. According to BoxRec, the native of Sydney measures 5-feet-7 inches tall with a 65-inch reach.
The 31-year-old Mahoney makes the ring walk with a near-perfect mark of 17-0-1 with 9 Ko’s. He stands 5-feet-11inches tall but unfortunately has an unlisted wingspan, so is reportedly four inches taller than Tszyu. Mahoney has boxed 102 rounds as a pro since making his debut back in 2016. He carries just over average power in his attack as his current knockout ratio stands at 52.9 per cent and he’s gone the distance in five of his last eight fights.
Mahoney won the vacant IBO Asia Pacific Junior Middleweight Belt in 2019 when he stopped John Ruba after the second round. He added the vacant Australian Junior Middleweight Title in 2021 when he beat Kris George by a 10-round unanimous decision. Mahoney captured the vacant IBF Pan Pacific Belt in 2025 when he shut out fan Zhang over 10 rounds and has defended it twice. The lone blemish on his record is a 10-round draw with Koen Mazoudier in 2023.
Prediction…
Neither boxer has really fought any top-level opposition at this point of their careers but Tszyu has arguably faced stiffer opposition and took a step up in class against Zerafa in January but that hotly-disputed Australian grudge match ended in an unsatisfactory manner. Tszyu definitely has the edge in power over Mahoney and while it should be a pretty close contest I’m expecting Tszyu to emerge with a victory due to his aggressive style and power.
Tszyu’s power and aggressiveness style should be the difference.
Play Tszyu -600 @ BetOnline.ag
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Ben Mahoney betting • Nikita Tszyu betting