Tim Tszyu has labelled Jermell Charlo the “shitter version” of his twin brother Jermall and is prepared to take world title belts off both of them on his way to etching himself into boxing history.
Saturday marked 100 days until Tszyu takes on Jermell Charlo for the American’s IBF, WBC, WBA and WBO super-welterweight straps in an attempt to become just the ninth undisputed champion in the four-belt era.
Jermall Charlo, meanwhile, is a two-weight world champion, having won the IBF super-welterweight title before moving up to the middleweight division, a weight class both Tszyu and Jermell Charlo are expected to eventually move up to.
Tszyu’s immediate focus is on the January 29 [AEDT] clash against Jermell Charlo in Las Vegas, but the Australian is open to the prospect of also taking on Jarmall in the future.
“I might get his big brother later on,” Tszyu told the Sun-Herald. “There’s one official Charlo [Jermall] and he [Jermell] calls himself the ‘Twin Charlo’. He’s the shitter version.
“He’s achieved more than his brother by winning the undisputed, but it’s a bit of a concern when you put yourself as the twin. They are both the same, they have the same characteristics. One is a little bit bigger, that’s it. We’ll see. Right now I’m focused solely on the younger one.”
Tim Tszyu is prepared to take on both Charlo twins, starting with Jermell in Las Vegas in January.Credit:SMH
Pressed on the prospect of stripping both Charlos of titles, the Australian replied: “That would be cool man, that would be pretty cool. One night. Why not?”
Tszyu’s manager, Glen Jennings, said the prospect of the “Soul Taker” taking on both Charlos wasn’t out of the question.
“He can go twice,” Jennings said. “We would be a mug of a team if we didn’t chat about future stuff like that as well. We’re really excited for whatever the future brings and wherever we end up landing. We briefly glanced at that. You can see that at 27, Tim is getting bigger, more mature.
“He’s going to keep growing. The logical choice at some stage – and yes, we’d like to do a few defences, maybe one here and one over there – but middleweights are the next attraction. The middleweights are a great class and that’s another challenge.
“Whilst we breezed over [Jermall Charlo] in discussions, it doesn’t change the fact that we’ve got a job with little Charlo yet.”
Tszyu – who has a rising siblilng himself in Nikita – made headlines when he boldly declared to the Herald during the week that he could eventually keep moving up weight classes until he becomes the heavyweight champion of the world. While some pundits remain sceptical, the undefeated local doesn’t shy away from big challenges.
“It gets people talking,” Tszyu said. “If you plant the seed, things can turn into reality. I’ve still got a long way to go, you never know what could happen in your career.”
Jermell Charlo had several mandatory opponents lining up for next crack at him, but Tszyu’s promoters, No Limit, were able to negotiate a deal.
“I was pushing for this, this is what I want,” Tszyu said. “For the past three years it feels like I’ve been the one who is getting hunted due to everything happening here in Australia.
“Now I’m the one who is going on the hunt. It’s a different mentality, a different feeling. And it feels incredible in the heart and in the soul.”
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