Tim Tszyu backed the WBO’s decision to strip Jermell Charlo of his junior middleweight belt and make him the full champion.
The organization confirmed that Charlo would no longer hold the belt once his fight with Canelo Alvarez on September 30th, 2023, gets underway.
This came as Tszyu had been a mandatory for over a year, as a fight with Charlo did not materialize. The American injured his hand as a January fight was called off.
But before it could get rescheduled, Charlo decided to move up to 168 and fight Canelo for his undisputed titles. So the fact that the WBO has acted has been welcomed.
“When you do the wrong thing like he has, you deserve to be stripped. So I’m glad the WBO went and did the right thing.
“It also means my name will be remembered forever on that list of world champions. And this belt, it won’t have just been handed to me.
“I won the interim title from a guy like Tony Harrison … so nothing has been just given to me,” Tszyu
Tim Tszyu Views Possible Brian Mendoza Clash as "Fireworks Fight of 154" https://t.co/umO03rpQe9 pic.twitter.com/uxfxIHz6ZH
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) August 16, 2023
In response, the Australian is eying a fight with Brian Mendoza. The latter is the former unified champion, who did stop Sebastian Fundora in his last fight to become the WBC interim champion.
And outside of Charlo, Tszyu expects him to pose the most challenging test.
“Right now, the top three in our division is Charlo, myself and then Mendoza. He’s the WBC interim-champion, sharp and slippery, throws unorthodox punches.
“And he has power in both hands. Boasts highlight reel knockouts. So when you look at his last few performances, and my last few performances, it’s the fireworks fight of the division right now,” Tszyu