Former WBC junior middleweight champion Tony Harrison is still in disbelief that Tim Tszyu decided to risk his mandatory status by facing him on March 11.
Harrison will travel to Australia to face Tszyu – with the vacant WBO interim-junior middleweight title at stake. Showtime will televise the fight in the United States.
Tszyu is the WBO’s mandatory challenger to undisputed world champion Jermell Charlo. Their fight was scheduled to take place last month, but it was pushed back after Charlo suffered a hand injury in training camp.
Harrison, who currently stands as the only boxer to defeat Charlo, is even worried that Tszyu will find a way to get out of the fight.
“If anything happens … if Tim pulls out with a hand injury, it’s a fraud,” Harrison said to Main Event’s Ben Damon. “He’s a fraud.
“And I think the world will consider him a fraud. Because we all know that he found a way to wiggle out of fighting Tony Harrison.”
Harrison admits he would not have taken the same risk, if he was in Tszyu’s shoes, if a world title shot was on the table.
“Never in a million years. I would go to whoever is at the top, his manager, his promoters and say ‘what are we doing here?’ What are we doing? We spent all this time hyping our guy up, put all this money behind our guy and here we are now at the door. Then (Charlo) broke his hand. But we are at the door. Listen to me son, wait out. There is nothing wrong with waiting Let’s not blow this s… This is the stupidest decision you can make as management, as promotion,” Harrison said.
“I’m next up to fight for all the belts, I wouldn’t have fought Tim. I wouldn’t have fought nobody to be honest. I would’ve waited it out. (But) for Tim to take on the only fighter to beat the person he wants to go take the four belts from, the most dangerous person in the division … I’m like ‘who grabbin’ their balls over there?’. Somebody is grabbin’ their balls. And I’m patting them on the back because that was stupid. Very stupid. Courageous in a sense of boxing. Stupid in a sense of business. (That’s why) if I could hug Tim right now I would.”