Tim Tszyu realizes that he is about to take a significant step up in opposition. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
Tony Harrison is the only opponent who has beaten Jermell Charlo, thus Tszyu considers their fight Sunday similar to the type of bout for which he was preparing prior to Charlo suffering a hand injury in December.
“He’s the man who beat the man,” Tszyu told BoxingScene.com. “If you can beat that guy, then you’re the next in line. You’re the next man.”
Detroit’s Harrison (29-3-1, 21 KOs) upset Houston’s Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) by unanimous decision in December 2018 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Charlo avenged his lone loss almost exactly one year later, when he knocked out Harrison in the 11th round of a competitive rematch and regained his WBC super welterweight title at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
“I’ve got nothing bad to say about Tony,” said Tszyu, who is consistently listed as more than a 2-1 favorite over Harrison. “He does everything well. He comes from a great pedigree, Kronk Boxing. So, he’s got all the tools. That’s what drives me and gets me excited to get up every morning, these type of caliber of opponents. And as a kid you dream of being in these big fights, these big moments. I’m living my dream.”
Harrison, 32, and Tszyu, 28, will fight for the WBO interim junior middleweight title at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, Tszyu’s hometown.
Showtime will televise their 12-round, 154-pound championship match live in the United States on Saturday night (10:45 p.m. ET). Tszyu-Harrison will headline a FOXTEL Main Event pay-per-view event in Australia on Sunday afternoon.
Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs) could’ve waited for the fractures in Charlo’s left hand to heal to have their fight rescheduled. Rather than extending an already lengthy layoff, Tszyu, the mandatory challenger for Charlo’s WBO belt, demanded to fight the highest-ranked available challenger for the WBO’s interim championship.
Tszyu hasn’t fought since he got up from a first-round knockdown and defeated American contender Terrell Gausha (23-3-1, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision in their 12-rounder last March 26 at The Armory in Minneapolis. Harrison most recently decisively defeated Spain’s Sergio Garcia (33-2, 14 KOs) on points in their 10-rounder last April 9 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Facing Harrison is a huge gamble because it could cost Tszyu his shot at their division’s undisputed champion. Charlo was supposed to face Tszyu in a “Showtime Championship Boxing” main event January 28 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.
The Tszyu-Harrison winner is expected to challenge Charlo next for the fully unified champion’s four titles, probably sometime in July.
“I respect Mell because he’s a proper fighter, man,” Tszyu said. “He doesn’t back away from any challenge. He takes on the very best in his division and he believes in his abilities, so I think he won’t be deterred by nothing.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.