*There’s now a new development to the Tim Tszyu story – he’s fighting on June 18 on the Gold Coast. HERE ARE ALL THE DETAILS*
How much longer does Tim Tszyu have to wait?
There are reports Jermell Charlo’s recovery from a broke hand is taking longer than expected, leaving the hungry Sydney sensation stuck between a rock and a hard place; wait for the shot he’s earned, or stay busy and risk it all by finding another opponent first.
Tszyu has revealed plans to gamble his Charlo title shot once again and pickup a June opponent, which potentially leads to the Charlo-Tszyu spectacle we’re all waiting for in August-September.
Charlo is the undisputed, unified light middleweight world champion, with the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO belts right now. He’s an absolute machine in the ring, his last fight with Brian Castano was one of the fights of 2022. But he hasn’t stepped in the ring since then – last May, meaning his wait between fights will stretch well over 12 months.
When Charlo broke his hand in the lead up to his booking with Tszyu, the Australian pivoted to Tony Harrison, the only fighter to ever get the better of the Charlo (35-1-1).
So with the champ’s reportedly slow recovery, Tszyu is now after another prelude. The son of Kostya is looking to take on a fight in June, before an eventual meeting with Charlo a little further down the line. The kicker being that he needs to make sure he doesn’t slip up first.
It’s actually not the worst outcome for Tim Tszyu; he’s far from a complete boxer as of yet. He showed vulnerabilities against Terrell Gausha in early 2022 and his win over Harrison wasn’t defensively spotless either. Another fight in June could pave over another one or two cracks, improving his chances of avoiding trouble in his eventual title tilt.
Tim Tszyu is officially ready for the bright lights of Vegas
Son of a gun Tim Tszyu is riding nobody’s coat tails.
The 28-year-old is a world champion and whatever happens from here, he’s reached a major checkpoint. The Sydney-born boxing sensation has proved the critics wrong, muzzled the haters and most importantly put his name well and truly on the global stage.
Tszyu emerged unscathed after his date with American Tony Harrison; a ninth round stoppage victory and now the WBO interim super welterweight belt around his waist. In what was a fight many said was a massive risk, a flurry of savage upper-cuts from Tim Tszyu ended it, with the Detroit native unable to recover.
Tszyu now has his sights even more squarely at Jermell Charlo, the undisputed top of the super welterweight division and the man he was meant to take on originally. When it came out that Charlo had to withdraw from the scheduled January showdown with Tszyu, the Aussie decided to stay busy. And that proved a masterstroke, gaining more experience, confidence and time in the ring with a world class opponent.
Tim Tszyu makes major statement in Sydney
The hometown hero put on a show in front of an estimated 20,000 boisterous fans at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena to claim the interim WBO super welterweight belt.
Tim Tszyu was in control for a majority of the contest; finally ending it with a powerful combo of upper-cuts that forced the referee to step in. It was Tszyu’s first fight in nearly 12 months and his first stoppage win since July 2021.
It comes 28 years after his father Kostya Tszyu captured his maiden world title, when Tim was only a couple months old.
Jermell Charlo beckons for Tim Tszyu
The victory now leaves the Australian with a perfect 22-0 professional record, securing a bout with undisputed super welterweight fighter and American Jermell ‘Iron Man’ Charlo.
The two were meant to face-off earlier this year in the States but Charlo had to withdraw due to an injury sustained during sparring practice in the build up.
CHARLO | 33 in May, 180cm (height), 185cm (reach)
TSZYU | 29 in November, 175cm (height), 179cm (reach)
Charlo, 35-1-1, has been almost untouchable in his career; coincidentally Tony Harrison is the only boxer to beat him. But that happened over four years ago and the Louisiana native has put together some incredible displays since; stopping Harrison a year later and claiming a 10th round KO win over Brian Castano in May last year, hands down one of the best bouts of 2022.
There’s already Tszyu-Charlo date and location speculation
Less than 24 hours since Tim Tszyu claimed the interim world title in the super welterweight division, his manager has expressed the Tszyu camp is ready for a Charlo date this July. That should be ample time for the American to heal, prepare and step into the ring without excuses.
With July firming, the fight is also rumoured to be potentially taken to the combat sports capital of the world, Las Vegas. It would be Tszyu’s second blue in the United States; his 2022 win over Terrell Gausha happened in Minneapolis, providing him some valuable experience in an alternate timezone and hemisphere.
What was said after Tszyu’s win?
Tim Tszyu kept coming forward during the fight and that continued afterwards.
“The competitor in front of me (Tony Harrison), he’s the man that beat the man (Jermell Charlo),” Tszyu said in the ring.
“Which means I just beat the man, that beat the man. What does that make me?”
More directly, Tszyu was poignant in sending a message to Charlo, both through his words and his actions in the ring.
“The message was sent clearly. You know what’s up, you know what’s next. I’m coming. I’m coming to America.”
What’s America and Charlo saying about Tim Tszyu now?
Despite the impressive performance from the Sydneysider, America still seems unfazed by his abilities in the ring.
Many still believe Charlo will be too strong of an opponent for Tszyu with his incredible power and boxing nous.
Speaking on Sunday, Charlo expressed his disappointment in his next opponent’s performance suggesting a lack of athleticism from Tszyu.
“He was a little flat to me. My movement, my style, my power will make him do completely different things,” Charlo said.
“I’m a different animal in there. I’m a different fighter than Tony.”
“He doesn’t really show a lot of athleticism to me. When you’ve got skills, and you’ve got styles and you’ve got power all together, you get four belts.”
“I know he can’t take my punch, because I just know my punch is different. It just made me want to fight, just get this over with, shut him up, I’ve shut a lot of them up, it’s just another one.”
“He’s going to do the same thing. He’s not going to change much.”
Hopefully a date will be confirmed soon for the undisputed world champion bout so we can put it on our calendars and count down the days for this one. Bring it on!
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STORY PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS:
Tim Tszyu’s mega fight with Tony Harrison in Sydney is locked and loaded
Sydney-born boxing extraordinaire Tim Tszyu will fight American Tony Harrison down under March 12 for the WBO super welterweight world title.
It will be Tszyu’s first blockbuster title shot, coming off the back of his unified championship showdown with superstar Jermell Charlo being postponed; Charlo broke his hand in training.
The bout is a huge gamble for 28-year-old Tszyu; Harrison is the only man to ever defeat Charlo in the ring.
The Detroit native has an impressive career record of 29-3-1 with 21 total knockouts. Tszyu, meantime, is undefeated through 21 fights; 15 of them ended via a stoppage.
It’s been nearly a year since one of Australia’s best boxing prospects stepped into the ring; somewhat out of his control.
Tszyu passed his first international test – and it was certainly a lesson-filled test, beating American Gausha by decision in Minneapolis, March 2022.
What did Tim Tszyu say before the Harrison fight?
Going into the bout with Harrison, Tszyu has been very confident of his ability to beat him but also showcase that in front of his home fans.
Speaking on Monday, he explained what he is expecting come fight night and what that might mean for his American opponent.
“I have so many passionate fans supporting and following me (in Australia), so I guess he will feel a certain craziness about the atmosphere in Australia,” Tszyu stated.
“I think Australia is going to erupt…but his biggest problem he’s running into isn’t the fans, it’s me.”
Why didn’t Tszyu fight Jermell Charlo?
Tim Tszyu’s fight against current welterweight champion Jermell Charlo was meant to happen on January 29th in Las Vegas, however Charlo had to withdraw from the bout after he broke his hand sparring.
Tszyu’s next best option was to book a bout with third ranked Tony Harrison which has now been confirmed for March 12th.
