BN Preview: Tim Tszyu rolls the dice against Tony Harrison, the only guy to have defeated Jermell Charlo – Boxing News
Whilst for lots of individuals Xmas Working day is a working day for providing and for smiling a little broader and for staying a very little nicer, Australia’s Tim Tszyu identified that Xmas Day 2022 was, sadly, likely to be a split from tradition.
For it was on that working day Tszyu acquired that a earth tremendous-welterweight title struggle towards Jermell Charlo, set for January, experienced been postponed owing to an injury endured by Charlo in preparing. It was for that reason that working day Tszyu’s designs for 2023 fell aside just as he was permitting himself to get fired up. Empty-handed, he experienced no presents to converse of and was instead still left with the sinking sensation of somebody who experienced woken up expecting to acquire one distinct gift only to discover that item on their want listing had for some rationale been disregarded.
He smiled through the pain, of program, but it couldn’t have been quick for Tszyu to imagine about moving into 2023 with his options upended. It was no question a aid, then, that it didn’t just take long for his group to established about cheering him up, lobbying initially to the WBO for a vacant interim title shot in Australia, and then, when that had been granted, seeking an opponent to give Tszyu the kind of test he had been expecting from Charlo.
This led Workforce Tszyu to the door of Tony Harrison, the only male who has so significantly managed to defeat Charlo, who agreed to struggle Tszyu on March 12 in Sydney no faster than the opportunity was offered to him. Likewise, Tszyu, despite the temptation to wait around for Charlo to get better, didn’t want to be requested two times when presented Tony Harrison as a prospective substitute opponent.
“Every battle you consider is all on the line,” Tszyu mentioned. “You’re a single punch absent from likely again to the pretty bottom. It’s all on the line and a gamble, but this is what I do.
“He (Harrison) was the subsequent greatest readily available possibility. I’m at that stage of my job in which I actually really do not treatment who is in entrance of me. I’m prepared to take them all out.”
Unquestionably, a person receives the sense Tszyu is a man impatient and a gentleman fed up with permanently remaining recognized as Kostya’s son and basically a wonderful prospect. At 28, and with 21 pro fights less than his belt, he feels the time is now, both equally to announce himself on the entire world stage and also explore for himself just how far he can go on this journey to replicate the feats of his legendary father.
To date, and with a lot of attention on him, Tszyu has rarely place a foot improper, impressing numerous with his neat, tranquil and unflappable demeanour. No make any difference the measurement of the shadow from which he seeks to escape, Tszyu appears the same each time he fights and has made continual stage-ups with out at any time searching like coming undone.
Only in his very last combat, in truth, back in March 2022, did Tszyu, 21- (15), present signals of fragility and, most likely, irritation. Certainly, it was past 12 months from Terrell Gausha, another American, Tszyu uncovered himself knocked down in the to start with round by using a rigid suitable hand, soon after which he struggled to assert his regular dominance, indicated by the eventual scorecards (114-113, 116-111 and 115-112). Really contrary to Tszyu, who is typically so calculated and confident, Gausha managed to rattle him early and then box nicely for significantly of the struggle, usually on the retreat but ready to go over up properly and get off with his personal counterpunchers from time to time.
Lesson uncovered, Tszyu, a 12 months later, now goes into this battle versus Harrison being aware of he will require to be greater than he was in opposition to Gausha. Mainly because Harrison, although stopped 3 times as a pro, is a male renowned for his relentless force, his unbreakable spirit, and his means to spring an upset.
His 2018 get towards Charlo, a battle in which he outhustled a winner whose record study 31-, shown all that tends to make Harrison this sort of a nuisance and delivered the Detroit native the WBC tremendous-welterweight belt. Fighting challenging from initially bell to very last, he refused to give Charlo a moment’s relaxation and was a deserving winner soon after 12 rounds, having the belt by scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 116-112. That earn not only confirmed Harrison as a drive to be reckoned with but was properly-gained, too, subsequent a tricky occupation which experienced witnessed him rebound from losses versus Willie Nelson in 2015 (TKO 9) and Jarrett Hurd in 2017 (TKO 9).
All he experienced to do now was repeat the victory in excess of Charlo in the pair’s rematch, but, sadly for Harrison, this he wasn’t capable to do. Alternatively, Charlo, a yr later, arrived out stronger in the return, dropping Harrison in the second round and then two times much more in the 11th, the spherical in which the struggle at some point ended.
From there, with wounds licked, Harrison, 29-3-1 (21), returned with a attract from Bryant Perrella in April 2021 before a year later scoring a reliable 10-spherical decision acquire versus Sergio Garcia, the former European tremendous-welterweight winner from Spain. Now, nearly 12 months on from that, Harrison steps up once once more, hoping to this time fare much better than he did from Charlo second time close to.
“I am the only earth championship fighter he has fought,” the 32-12 months-old American mentioned of Tszyu. “I am the initial just one and I am in all probability likely to be the previous simply because he’s likely to go back again to the base and have to rebuild this stuff back up.
“He’s not a weak kid but to say he’s like Kostya Tszyu, I believe we’re providing him just a minimal too significantly.”
That may possibly be accurate, and without doubt evaluating Tim and Kostya, when only organic, operates the possibility of sounding premature, especially when dealing with achievement. Nevertheless, the new Tszyu has demonstrated ample in his 21 fights to date to be self-confident of adding Tony Harrison to his list of victims and, with the backing of both of those his father and property assist, one expects him to occur by way of this examination – the most significant of his profession – by selection.
On the Sydney undercard, meanwhile, unbeaten tremendous-bantamweight Sam Goodman, 13- (7), gets a further respectable examination in the sort of TJ Doheny, 23-3 (17), who, though 36 a long time of age and nearing the conclusion of his occupation, has in no way been stopped in an 11-12 months pro job and should give the rapidly-increasing Australia with some resistance about the 10-round length.