Keith Thurman understands why many boxing observers were shocked when Tim Tszyu didn’t answer the bell for the eighth round of his rematch with Sebastian Fundora.

The courageous Australian fought through one of the most horrific cuts in recent boxing history for 10 rounds the first time he fought Fundora in March 2024. Tszyu also got up from four knockdowns before his fight with Russian underdog Bakhram Murtazaliev was stopped in the third round seven months later.

The former WBO junior middleweight champion claimed an opponent would have had to kill him to beat him a couple days before he fought Fundora a second time July 19 in Las Vegas. After seven surprisingly one-sided rounds, however, Tszyu determined he simply couldn’t defeat Fundora that night.

Thurman thinks the damage Murtazaliev did to Tszyu factored into deciding he had taken too much punishment.

“I’d say Tim Tszyu would’ve never quit if he hadn’t been stopped previously in his career,” Thurman told The Ring. “He’s experienced a lot of damage and, because of that, his team knew they were going for a Hail Mary. Meanwhile, their fighter is still taking damage and maybe it’s not necessary, and they just went home.

“It was surprising. I think it shocked a lot of people. But I think they started to care about their fighter and, for the first time in their lives, they prioritized his well-being over trying to make a miracle happen. That’s my opinion.”

Thurman (31-1, 23 KOs, 1 NC) had a vested interest in the outcome of the Fundora-Tszyu rematch because he wanted to fight the winner.

If he'd won, Tszyu, 30, probably would've fought Thurman, 36, next in his home country of Australia. Thurman withdrew from his fight with Tszyu in March 2024 due to a biceps injury, which allowed Fundora to replace him on short notice.

Thurman, a former WBA/WBC welterweight champ, will instead face Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs) for the 6-foot-5 southpaw’s WBC super welterweight title October 25 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The Clearwater, Florida native expects to have much more success when he challenges Fundora than Tszyu (25-3, 18 KOs) experienced in their second bout.

After winning their first fight by split decision, Fundora led Tszyu by the same score, 69-63, on the cards of judges Eric Cheek, Patricia Morse Jarman and David Sutherland through seven rounds. Tszyu admitted he was demoralized because he knew he was way behind and realized it would be very difficult to work effectively inside due to the taller, longer Fundora’s jab.

“Tim was like inches away from [landing] a lot of big shots,” Thurman said. “He was actually landing a few shots, too. So, he was in the fight. But at the same time, he was taking shots and at that point of the fight Tim Tszyu wins by knockout only. I don’t even know how many rounds you can give him leading up until that moment of the fight.

“So, let’s just say you give him one to two rounds, right? He got knocked down in the first round. So, if you gave him two rounds, he still only won one round. And if you give him one round, it’s as if he won no rounds.”