Tim Tszyu is Optimistic He Gets to Fight Jermell Charlo Next
In front of an adoring, Australian home crowd, it was easy pickings for WBO Interim junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu (23-0, 16 KOs) as he ran through Carlos Campos in just seventy-seven seconds. What Tszyu now hopes for is to at long last fight reigning undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs). Immediately after his win over Ocampo, Tszyu re-iterated his desire to face the undisputed champion.
“The big one’s coming up. That’s where I’m headed. I got this Interim belt, but I’m not satisfied. I want all four. It’s not the belts. I literally just want the name Charlo on my resume.”
WHEN WILL IT HAPPEN?
Tszyu was to face Charlo in January 2023. But the undisputed champion broke his left hand in training for that contest. Charlo felt he would be ready to fight Tzsyu in either July or August this year. However, that timetable has been pushed back.
It’s a fight that Charlo can’t avoid if he wants to remain the undisputed champion. The WBO has given a September 30 deadline for them to fight, or else Charlo will be stripped.
Some boxing fans feel that Charlo’s hand should be healed by now and have claimed he’s ducking the Interim champion. But during the post-fight press conference following the victory over Ocampo, Tszyu said he doesn’t believe that Charlo is scared to fight him.
Iron Man has repeatedly said that the next time he gets in the ring, it will be against Tszyu. There’s hope among insiders that the bout will happen in early fall.
