Tim Tszyu was in training camp for the kind of fight he had long dreamed of, the kind of fight his father, Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, starred in many times.
Tszyu is reportedly traveling to the United States for his second stateside fight, a clash with Jermell Charlo for the undisputed junior middleweight championship on January 28 in Las Vegas. But a month later, Charlo withdrew with a broken left hand.
Instead of waiting for Charlo to recover, Tszyu (23-0, 17 KO) wisely chose to stay active. He scored his career-best victory in March, a ninth-round TKO of former champion Tony Harrison. Tszyu followed that up with a first-round knockout of Carlos Ocampo in June.
By the time Charlo was restored, he was offered the fight against Canelo Alvarez, which he lost last month while challenging for Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight championship. If Tszyu had stayed on the sidelines to preserve his mandatory title shot and the fight with Charlo, he could have ended up with just one fight this year.
Instead, Tszyu has gained valuable experience and momentum heading into what is shaping up to be a pivotal year in 2024. Charlo was stripped of his WBO title at 154 pounds last month, a belt that belongs now in Tszyu. The Australian star will defend this title for the first time on Sunday in Queensland, Australia (Saturday night in the United States) against Brian Mendoza.
Don’t expect Tszyu to celebrate a championship he never won in the ring.
“I don’t feel like I’m world champion yet; it’s just a small trophy, I guess,” Tszyu told ESPN on Wednesday. “But for me, deep down, I just want the Charlo belt and I want all four belts rolled up rather than just having one.”
This mentality is refreshing in a sport with four (or more) titles in 17 weight classes and numerous paper champions. Tszyu, 28, knows that much greater achievements await him if he can just continue to grow.
First, he will look to “stop the momentum” of Mendoza, who is coming off two upset KO victories over Jeison Rosario and Sebastian Fundora, and “show that I am a class above.”
After that? Tszyu said this would be his last fight in his native Australia for the near future as he prepares for “the big super fights” in the United States, “the kind of events his father competed in in the United States more than 20 years ago.
Kostya Tszyu defeated the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez in 2000 and unified the 140-pound titles when he scored a second-round TKO of Zab Judah.
All these years later, Tszyu carves his own path of destruction with his heavy hands, a crowd-pleasing search-and-destroy style that is refined as he fights.
But even his father never really achieved stardom in the United States. Tszyu has a chance, and it has little to do with his famous last name.
“Dominance and ability to take over a division, just like GGG [Gennadiy Golovkin] did. It had a big impact on the American scene and people loved it,” Tszyu said of the all-time great middleweight from Kazakhstan, who became a box office attraction with a string of punishing knockouts . “I bring this type of action to every fight and passion.
“He’s one of my big idols. I hope boxing fans will really accept me because that’s my kind of style and I like to put on entertaining fights, not boring fights.”
After all, that’s what fighting games are for: entertainment. And Tszyu has delivered every time so far. He also faced adversity. Tszyu was floored in the first round of his seventh professional fight and again in the first round of his only fight in the United States, a decision victory over Terrell Gausha last year.
“The dedication and desire to be great is in this kid,” said Hall of Fame fighter ESPN boxing analyst Timothy Bradley Jr.. “…He represents the Tszyu name. He takes this seriously. He doesn’t play this game. He is ready to take over this division.
“So I think he has the right mindset, and I think he knows that what he has to do to become a big star here is just have the right dance partners on ring,” Bradley added. “…If he can get Charlo in the ring and knock him out, of course, that will immediately boost his status and recognition in America. But I think he can take on another guy, that’s [Terence] Crawford.”
In pursuit of such super fights, Tszyu will soon campaign in America. He hopes the first big match will come against Charlo, who was harshly criticized for his lackluster performance against Alvarez. Charlo said he would return to 154 pounds to defend all three of his titles. Tszyu, of course, has to take care of business first by fending off Mendoza in spectacular fashion. He is a 7-1 favorite to win the fight.
If Tszyu can emerge with his hand raised, then talk of a rescheduled Charlo-Tszyu match can begin, and the Australian believes the match is even more important now after Charlo shared the ring with boxing’s top star.
“His performance [against Alvarez] It was shocking,” Tszyu said. “It’s just him. …I felt like it was just a survival tactic. If you look at Errol Spence and Terence Crawford, at least Errol Spence came out on his shield. He was trying to dig deep and listen to his coach. …And that’s respect for a fighter.
“But the way Charlo played, even calling himself ‘lion’ and ‘I’m different from everyone else he’s fought’ and saying all that, and to play like that, you lie to yourself and you lie to everyone. … And I knew for a long time that he was a liar.”
Whether or not he wins the Charlo fight, Tszyu expects to campaign at 154 pounds “maybe another year. … But if the opportunity arises to get to something bigger at 160 , 168 even, I will jump with both hands”.
