Tim Tszyu vs Tony Harrison; The Winner to Face Jermell Charlo

Tim Tszyu vs Tony Harrison; The Winner to Face Jermell Charlo

Late last year, undefeated Australian Tim Tszyu was floating on a cloud of joy and hope, as he was just over a month away from challenging American twin Jermell Charlo’s four titles. But then fate got in the way and played a trick on him.

The undisputed king of 154 pounds, Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) was required to cross gloves against undefeated Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs) on the 28th of January at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. For Charlo, the fight against Tszyu would be his first defense of the four belts, which he had unified by knocking out Argentine Brian Castaño (17-1-2, 12 KOs) in the rematch in Carson, California.

When word arrived that Charlo had been injured in training camp, there were countless conjectures and dubious comments pertaining to the validity of his injury. The WBO subsequently requested a medical certificate and a detailed report of the trauma. According to specialists at the Methodist Orthopedic Hospital in Houston, thirty-two-year-old Charlo had a double fracture in his left hand and would be required to wear a cast.

As proof of the injury, Charlo posted a photo on social media, showing his arm in a cast, along with the medical report. “I was sparring, and I threw this nice punch and as soon as it landed, I knew something was wrong,” Charlo said. “I felt my hand throbbing right away. I had two X-rays and an MRI to see what was wrong. It showed it was broken in two places. I hate this feeling. My hand will be in a cast for two months. I’m as disappointed as the fans, maybe more, because this was my first chance to defend the undisputed title.”

After 10 weeks of training in the United States, Tszyu was frustrated when the fight against Charlo was called off. His training camp alone came with an approximate cost of $250,000, as revealed by Fox Sports prior to the trip.  Tszyu trained on the outskirts of Los Angeles at the gym of prestigious trainer Joe Goossen.

“I’m very disappointed,” said Tszyu. “I felt like the stars aligned for undisputed … but we move on. I’m ready to take on the next mandatory challenger. I’ll be back for Charlo once he is ready and healed.”

Recently, the WBO ordered Tszyu to fight American Tony Harrison (29-3-1, 21 KOs), in a fight that was agreed to for March 12th, at the Qudos Bank Arena, in Sydney, Australia where the vacant Interim belt in the super welterweight division will be in dispute.

“For sure, Tony Harrison is the top one percent,” said Tszyu. “He’s the one that beat the man (Jermell Charlo). I’m fighting the man that beat the man. It’s a good step up for me and something I’m looking forward to in my career.”

The WBO has also ruled that the winner between Tszyu and Harrison must face Charlo this year. When Tszyu was asked if he plans to return to the US after beating Harrison to then fight Charlo, he replied, “one hundred percent, that’s the plan.”

Article submitted by Jorge Juan Álvarez in Spanish.

Please note any adjustments made were for clarification purposes and any errors in translation were unintentional.

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