Tim Tszyu ignored the outside noise that openly questioned whether or not he was worthy of a world title opportunity. With the 28-year-old happily accepting an undisputed showdown against Jermell Charlo, he was ultimately despondent when he was given the news.
As the finishing touches were being placed on an arduous training camp, Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) revealed that a broken left hand would leave him sidelined for several months. While annoyed, Tony Harrison, Charlo’s longtime rival, happily stepped in. Although he oozed confidence, Harrison was forced to renege on all of his brazen pre-fight trash talk.
An eager Charlo stood sequestered on the sidelines while the two battled it out on March 12th in Australia. Tszyu, after navigating around Harrison’s bothersome jab, went on to batter the former champion, stopping him in the ninth frame.
Having watched every second of every round, Charlo concedes that Tszyu is a worthy adversary. However, he isn’t quaking in his boots over their possible showdown.
“He’s a solid fighter,” said Charlo to Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast. “He’s strong, he comes to fight but it’s not nothing I haven’t seen before. I’ve been boxing my whole life, seen almost every style.”
At the moment, Charlo is continuing to rigorously attack his rehab stint with a return date of late summer being targeted. While he could attempt to test his surgically repaired left hand on a lesser foe, Charlo has stated that he doesn’t plan to eschew Tszyu and will instead march directly into their bout.
As their showdown draws near, Charlo begins to foam at the mouth as he envisions how things will ultimately play out. Considering his vast experience against some of the junior middleweight divisions elite, Charlo simply doesn’t see a world where Tszyu will befuddle him by bringing something unique to the table.
“I don’t think he possesses anything tough for me that I can’t handle.”