Tim Tszyu Abandons Hope of Facing Jermell Charlo
On March 30, WBO super welterweight champion Tim “The Soul Taker” Tszyu (24-0, 17 KO’s) will take on former welterweight champion Keith Thurman. To date, Thurman will represent the biggest marquee name on Tszyu’s resume. Yet, had he gotten his way, The Soul Taker would have had the chance to test his might versus former undisputed 154-pound champion Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KO’s).
IRON MAN LOOKING RUSTY
In his last professional duel, Charlo waltzed up two divisions to take on undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. For his trouble, Iron Man was thoroughly outclassed and embarrassed en route to a wide unanimous decision loss.
Since that defeat, along with a great deal of career momentum and fan respect, Charlo has been stripped of all his belts, minus the WBA. Given this grand fall from grace, Tszyu does not feel that he will ever dance with his elusive rival.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that I am never going to fight him [Charlo], because he is a bit of a coward. And finally all the sanctioning bodies are realizing that he is a fraud; he went so hard to win the belts and got to go even harder to keep them.”
“And what did he do? He just stopped fighting and it’s unfair for the rest of the division. It’s held us all up for two or three years, so let him go into hiding and his little holiday, into his little whatever he does. It’s not my concern, he is not on the radar at all for anyone any more!”
GOT TO BE FASTER THAN THAT
As it is with the shifting sands in boxing, during his pursuit of Charlo, The Soul Taker has gone from a formidable rising challenger to arguably the man to beat in the division. With his loss to Canelo, there is no telling when Charlo will return or what his condition will be at that point. Hopefully for him and his fan base, the once dominant champion will return to form. But he will have to show and prove.
On the flipside, Tszyu is heading into his next fight riding a wave of confidence that should serve him well in the ring. Provided that he wins, and in style, then the sky is the limit for the Australian. Ideally for his team and fans, this bout against Thurman will begin truly familiarizing his face with American audiences.
Being the first to stop One Time would go a long way toward achieving that goal! So, as always, stay tuned to 3Kings Boxing to see what develops next in the topsy-turvy world of boxing news and politics.
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