Tim Tszyu won’t wait to see what Jermell Charlo’s next move is.
The 154-pound competitor is at his peak. He wants to fight. So when his match against the undisputed champion on January 28 was postponed because Charlo broke his arm in practice, something Tszyu admits gutted him, the tennis player. Australians looked elsewhere.
He found a tough challenge with former belt fighter Tony Harrison, his opponent on Saturday (Sunday in Australia) at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney (Showtime).
The winner is expected to fight Charlo next, although, as Tszyu said, there is no guarantee.
“I don’t want to rely on anyone,” he told Boxing Junkie, referring to Charlo. “When you get a chance to fight someone like Tony Harrison, I jump in. It was a big fight to make. I don’t rely on Jermell’s career, on what he decides to do, how long he wants to take off.
“I’m 28 years old, I’m at the peak of my career and I’m going into every fight as presented.”
Charlo and Harrison, going 1-1, have similar records but different styles.
Charlo is a boxer, a skilled technician with the ability to end any fight instantly thanks to the power of his punches. Harrison learned that the hard way in their 2019 rematch, in which he was stopped at 11lame pants round.
Harrison (29-3-1, 21 KOs) is a slick technician, which is why he was able to get past Charlo in their first game.
Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs) understands the difficult task ahead even though Harrison has only drawn 1-1-1 in his last three games. The Detroit product last fought in April last year, when he easily overtook Spaniard Sergio Garcia.
“He had all the tools,” Tszyu said of Harrison. “He comes from a great family. It will be a huge challenge. I never shy away from a challenge.”
Does Tszyu see anything in Harrison’s knockout loss to Charlo and his draw with Bryant Perrella in the next game that he could exploit?
“Harrison turns it on and off sometimes,” he said. “He was like this, up and down. The times in a fight when he pops up, he does great. The times he shuts down… I have to take advantage of those shutdown moments.”
One bonus of fighting Harrison – assuming he wins – is that he will gain more experience, which can be especially valuable against a veteran opponent.
Tszyu delivered a breakthrough victory when he got up from a knockdown in the first round to beat the capable Terrell Gausha with a clear decision in his most recent bout, last March. On the other hand, his objections are no better than firm.
He would be better prepared to face Charlo if he got past Harrison, who most observers – including Tszyu – would say is a step up from Gausha.
“100 percent,” said Tszyu. “Every war you progress, every war there is a lot of growth. It’s a small step forward before fighting Charlo.”
Tszyu is excited about Saturday and whatever lies ahead, whether Charlo appears in the picture or not.
“Honestly, it’s the next big fight to take,” he said of Harrison. “Everybody is interested in the war. I absolutely want to bring the big fights when we can and get into those big fights.
“This makes no difference.”
