Tim Tszyu Still Wants his Piece of Jermell Charlo
Come October 15, WBO super welterweight champion Tim “The Soul Taker” Tszyu (23-0, 17 KO’s) will stage the first defense of his title against Brian Mendoza. Yet, for those in the know, this is not hardly the fight that Tszyu truly wants. If given his way, The Soul Taker would be testing his might against unified 154-pound champion Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KO’s).
Tsyzu has been waiting to dance with Iron Man for well over a year as his mandatory. The first major delay came when Charlo broke his hand and had to sit out while it healed. Unfortunately for the Australian, the moment that the hand was fully mended, Charlo signed on for a megafight versus undisputed super middleweight champion Saul Alvarez. Sadly for the viewing public, Charlo got in the ring with Alvarez and did absolutely nothing but survive for twelve rounds.
THE NEVERENDING STORY
Given his extremely listless performance, it was no surprise when Iron Man was dealt a unanimous decision loss. Despite the defeat at 168-pounds, Charlo remained a unified champion at 154. In the aftermath of his loss to Alvarez, Charlo has stated his desire to return to 154 and resume defending his titles. This comes as good news to The Soul Taker, who earnestly still wants this shot against Jermell Charlo. And in a recent interview with Fight Hype, the Australian delved a bit more into his rationales.
“I said it before, I’ll only be content when I beat the man of the division and everything else will play it’s part. I don’t feel like I need to beat Charlo. For me it’s not about getting one belt – I want all four. The only thing is it makes the fight closer because if he wants this belt, then we fight for all the marbles.”
First however, Tszyu still has to hop the hurdle being provided by Mendoza on October 15. Assuming that he does, then he can put all his focus back on securing a duel with Charlo. Yet, as he stated himself, so long as he remained undefeated, the mere fact that he holds the WBO title will make him that much more an attractive option for Iron Man. So, let’s see who proves themselves come fight night and then maybe we can resume the ongoing rivalry between Charlo and Tim Tszyu.
