Tim Tszyu didn’t shrink back from preventing the one opponent who has overwhelmed Jermell Charlo earlier than Tszyu might get his personal shot on the absolutely unified 154-pound champion.
Tszyu, who will face former WBC champ Tony Harrison on March 12, informed FOX Sports activities Australia on Monday that he’s able to “take all of them out.”
Sydney’s Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs) might’ve taken a much less difficult bout to get in some work whereas he waits for the injured Charlo to get wholesome. He as an alternative opted to battle Detroit’s Harrison (29-3-1, 21 KOs) for the WBO interim junior middleweight title at a venue to be introduced in Australia.
The 28-year-old Tszyu, who’s the WBO’s necessary challenger for one in all Charlo’s 4 championships, was imagined to problem Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) this Saturday evening at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Area in Las Vegas. Charlo-Tszyu was formally postponed on Christmas Eve as a result of Charlo suffered a fractured left hand whereas coaching.
The 32-year-old Charlo may not be able to battle till someday this summer time. Tszyu didn’t need to wait that lengthy to return to the ring as a result of he hasn’t boxed since final March 26, thus Tszyu’s crew pushed for an interim championship conflict.
“Each battle you are taking [it’s] all on the road,” Tszyu informed FOX Sports activities Australia, which first reported Sunday that Tszyu will battle Harrison. “You’re one punch away from going again to the very backside. It’s all on the road and a chance, however that is what I do. That is boxing. It’s a part of my profession and I’m a fighter first.”
Harrison, 32, is ranked fourth by the WBO, three spots beneath the quantity one-ranked Tszyu.
England’s Liam Smith (33-3-1, 20 KOs) is ranked second by the WBO, however the former WBO junior middleweight champ was unavailable as a result of he knocked out Chris Eubank Jr. (32-3, 23 KOs) within the fourth spherical of their middleweight match Saturday evening at AO Area in Manchester, England. Russia’s Bakhram Murtazaliev (21-0, 15 KOs) is ranked third by the WBO, however the necessary challenger for Charlo’s IBF belt turned down a possibility to battle Tszyu for the WBO interim title.
“[Harrison] was the following greatest accessible possibility,” Tszyu stated. “I’m at that stage of my profession that I actually don’t care who’s in entrance of me. I’m able to take all of them out.”
Whoever wins the Tszyu-Harrison bout is anticipated to battle Charlo in his following battle.
Harrison upset Charlo by unanimous choice to win the WBC tremendous welterweight crown in December 2018 at Barclays Middle in Brooklyn. Charlo knocked out Harrison within the eleventh spherical of their rematch to take again his WBC belt in December 2019 at Toyota Area in Ontario, California.
Keith Idec is a senior author/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He may be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.