Tim Tszyu upped his game once again and now the boxing world is truly on notice

Tim Tszyu is not only fast-tracked to a world title shot, but boxing superstardom, after a 12-round beatdown of Takeshi Inoue.

Tszyu won virtually every moment of every round to score a unanimous decision victory and ensure his next bout would be against world champion Brian Castaño for the WBO belt. 

The 27-year-old became the first fighter to floor the hard-nosed Japanese visitor but, more importantly, he showed the punch variation and ring nous that would trouble most in the division. 

Questions about Tszyu's world-class legitimacy evaporated as he physically imposed himself in the opening round. 

Tszyu landed a left hook that caught Inoue off balance, causing him to stagger in the middle of the ring. 

But it was the stiff jabs and straight rights that had Inoue back-pedalling, as Tszyu stalked him into the pocket. 

By round three, Tszyu was landing precision uppercuts with both hands and throwing thudding punches to the body. 

The end seemed imminent in the middle rounds, but Inoue survived to make the final bell, earning the adulation of the partisan pro-Tszyu crowd. 

It was the kind of performance that made you wonder whether anyone in the division would've had any more success against this version of Tszyu. 

Inoue is ranked seventh by the WBO and had only one loss on his resume leading in. That defeat came in a competitive title fight against now-middleweight Jaime Munguia. 

In his 20th professional win, Tszyu looked poised to win by a thousand uppercuts. 

Tszyu's ability to not only throw, but land, at will on either side of the body is incredibly rare in the sport. 

Only name-brand fighters like Canelo Alvarez, Chocolatito Gonzalez and Gennady Golovkin come to mind with such an attribute. 

The Golovkin comparison was glaring on the night. Despite being a division fighter and not sealing the knockout victory, there were obvious similarities, not limited to the titanium trunks Tszyu wore. 

Sure, Tszyu's calculated clubbing shots were reminiscent of the middleweight destroyer, but it was his predator instincts that left the biggest impression, with him continually cutting off the ring and closing in on his opponent. 

Inoue couldn't stay out of range, repeatedly getting tagged as a result of Tszyu's swift footwork. 

It was a performance that would send shock waves through the division and Tszyu put them all on notice. 

"The honeymoon is over," Tszyu said in his post-fight interview. "I'm coming for all of you, every single one of you."

That includes belt holders Jermell Charlo and Castaño, who fought to a controversial draw in their unification bout in July. 

On the back of that result, the WBO mandated its champion (Castaño) to defend his belt against Tszyu, who forged ahead with Inoue despite his freshly minted status. 

The sanctioning body will rule a negotiating period between the representatives for both fighters to ensure the bout is made within a specified window.

If no resolution on a location is reached, the fight will head to a customary purse bid.

Argentine Castaño is managed by Al Haymon and his last four fights have taken place on American soil. 

Tszyu is promoted by Matt Rose's No Limit Boxing, and given his rising stocks, they would consider themselves a live shot at securing the title fight on Australian soil. 

The last legitimate world title fight in these parts was in December 2017, when former welterweight champion Jeff Horn made his first defence against Gary Corcoran. 

The crowd at Homebush on Wednesday night included dignitaries from the sports and entertainment world, as every event Tszyu headlines feels bigger than the last. 

Tszyu's title fight is likely to take place in the first quarter of 2022.