Australian boxer Tim Tszyu opened up about his fight against Jermell Charlo being replaced by a fight between Charlo and superstar Canelo Alvarez. Tszyu’s spoke to Fight Hub TV on the turn of events.
“Yeah, I thought it was a joke at first… when it was actually official I was… a bit in shock,” Tszyu said.
His first reaction? Disbelief. Tszyu found out the unexpected news through social media, which was an unpleasant surprise for him.
“Just through social media…waking up to her [the news] and I was like oh man this can’t be real for sure and then I saw it on the Canelo official page.”
“Any fighter would, you know, he’s [Canelo] the face of boxing so if anyone gets the fight they’re going to take it,” Tszyu said.
Tszyu called out the stagnation caused by Charlo’s inactive title, arguing that boxing regulations should prevent such logjams.
“I’ve been mandated to fight for the WBO title for nearly three years now. If he’s [Charlo] not fighting then the belts have to be vacated. It’s not fair because the whole division’s been held up because of him.”
Tszyu, who had been waiting for the Charlo fight for quite a while, shows a mix of frustration and acceptance of the situation. His main concern lies with the delays in the division due to Charlo’s inaction.
Despite the unexpected shift, Tszyu remains hopeful and steadfast in his ambitions.
“I’m not staying in this division for as long as possible, you know. So if I can make those big fights happen now, possibly unify… that’s what I’m doing.”
The Charlo – Canelo Fight
When asked about the upcoming fight between Charlo and Canelo, Tszyu provided a prediction.
“I think Canelo knocks out Jermell out in my opinion… it could be around the 10th in my opinion.”
Tszyu also questioned whether Charlo would return to the 154lb division after the Canelo fight, as this could potentially scatter the belts and make his goal of becoming the Undisputed Champion more challenging.
