Tony Harrison boldly declared he sees “nothing special” in Tim Tszyu ahead of their upcoming fight and insists once he gets past the Aussie, there’s only one man in his sights: Jermell Charlo.
Tszyu was set to face off against Charlo for the undisputed super welterweight title, but the latter was ruled out after sustaining a serious hand injury whilst sparring in the lead-up.
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Harrison (29-3, 21KO), the only man to defeat Charlo, was then catapulted into an interim WBO super welterweight title fight against Tszyu (21-0, 15KO) scheduled for March 12.
It will be the Detroit native’s first fight since April last year and just his third in four years, but the former world champion enters the bout full of confidence against a “basic” opponent in Tszyu.
“To be honest, Tim is a very tough fighter but he’s just so basic to me,” Harrison told Brian Custer’s The Last Stand Podcast.
“He’s somebody I see around the block, he’s like somebody at the park when I’m fighting somebody at the park. It’s nothing special about him. His defence is not stellar, his offence is not stellar. He’s just a very tough competitor.
“I just feel like I’m gonna out-will him, out-skill him, I’m gonna have fun in there.
“I don’t really see too many ways he can beat me, to be honest.”
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Despite currently being priced as a $2.90 outsider by Sportsbet, Harrison is already in the mindset of what will come next if he manages to upset Tszyu on home soil: a trilogy fight against Charlo.
Harrison got the better of his rival in their first fight with a unanimous decision in 2018, before Charlo got one back when the referee waved off their second contest in the 11th round a year later.
Although he was stopped by Charlo, it hasn’t deterred Harrison from believing he can settle the score once and for all.
“They got me going against one of the top guys, one of the best people in the world,” Harrison said.
“I’m like, ‘What better way to show I’m the best fighter in the world.’ And then, not only that, I get the only guy I’ve been chasing when I win this fight.
“I only want one guy, and I’m done. I only want one guy and I’m out of it, I’m going into the rafters after that.
“I want one guy that got what I thought I gave to him. I feel like I gave it to him. I feel like I got too many sides of my fight. A lot of people seen me box but nobody ever seen me walk forward until I fought Jermell the second time, then he got on his bicycle.
“So I just think when my mind’s in it and I’m focused, you can bet the house on me.”
