Tim Tszyu’s long-awaited clash with undisputed champion Jermell Charlo is off after the cocky American moved up two weight divisions for a shot at Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Team Tszyu has privately feared Charlo, despite being forced by the World Boxing Organisation to fight the undefeated Australian before September 30, would avoid the fight. That proved to be the case when promoters PBC announced Charlo will instead fight Alvarez on September 30 in a showdown being promoted as “undisputed versus undisputed”.
The Tim Tszyu-Jermell Charlo won’t go ahead.Credit: Getty
That tagline may prove somewhat misleading given the WBO will likely strip Charlo of his super welterweight title, meaning Tszyu will be upgraded from interim champion to full champion. However, it is not the way the “Soul Taker” wanted to earn the belt.
The development is a bitter blow for Tszyu, who was supremely confident of defeating Charlo to become just the 10th undisputed champion in the four-belt era. The 28-year-old in March beat Tony Harrison, the only man to defeat Charlo, and then destroyed Mexican Carlos Ocampo in the first round on the Gold Coast recently.
While Tszyu’s next move is unclear, one option is to go up one weight division and challenge Charlo’s twin brother, Jermall, who is the WBC middleweight champion.
