Tony Harrison only now agrees that Tim Tszyu will deserve to fight for the world title with a win in his next fight.
Of course, he doesn’t believe that will happen since they are due to face each other this weekend.
That said, the Detroit native sees the logic in their bout serving as the final eliminator—disguised as an interim WBO title fight—to next face undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19KOs). Tszyu was previously due to challenge for all of the titles, only for Charlo to suffer a broken left hand which left him unable to proceed with their scheduled January 28 Showtime headliner in Las Vegas.
“I think a fight with me makes more sense than a fight with Jermell,” Harrison told host Ben Damon during a recent “Face Off” segment on Main Event and Fox Sports in Australia. “I think you have to compete against people like me… to show us why you deserve that. You are fighting for every single belt. Why?”
Tszyu (21-0, 15KOs) was permitted to proceed with no worse than a stay-busy fight in his native Australia, with the WBO prepared to make an interim title available depending on the opponent. Following a brief effort to pursue a showdown with IBF mandatory Bakhram Murtazaliev, the search landed on Harrison (29-3-1, 22KOs), the former WBC junior middleweight champion who not only immediately agreed to the fight but called out for the opportunity prior to receiving the offer. The two will meet this Sunday (local time) at Qudos Bank Arena in Tszyu’s native Sydney, with the time difference allowing for a primetime Showtime viewing in the U.S.
Charlo will have 180 days to face the winner. An upset victory for Harrison will mean a trilogy clash with the reigning undisputed king, whom he defeated in December 2018 to win the WBC title on his second try, having previously suffered a knockout defeat to then-unbeaten Jarrett Hurd in their February 2017 vacant title fight.
Harrison’s title reign lasted exactly 52 weeks before losing the belt to Charlo via eleventh-round knockout in their December 2019 rematch. He has fought just twice since then, the latest coming in a dominant ten-round points win over Spain’s Sergio Garcia last April 9 in Las Vegas.
“You know how hard it was for me,” Harrison asked, rhetorically, of his path to fight for the title and return to this stage. “I had to fight guys like Hurd. I had to fight Jermell twice. You know how hard it was for me? I mean, c’mon. Who do I gotta pay to skip the line like he did? He skipped.”
Tszyu was named the mandatory challenger in August 2021, gravitating to the position by default.
The second-generation boxer—whose father Kostya is a Hall of Fame former undisputed junior welterweight champion—faced faded countrymen Jeff Horn and Dennis Hogan on the way up the rankings. Ironically, his best wins have come since being named next in line for the title, as he earned decision wins over former title challengers Takeshi Inoue and Terrell Gausha. The win over Gausha saw Tszyu survive a first-round knockdown to outpoint the 2012 U.S. Olympian over twelve rounds in his U.S. debut last March 26 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“You have one of the best managers there is in boxing,” Harrison told Tszyu during the face-off session. “It’s all management. Management had to match you up with guys like that. They had to speak up with the WBO to get you that ranking.
“Management made that happen for you. No skill is involved in that. Management did a good fucking job with you.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
