WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu 23-0 (17) doesn’t see himself campaigning in the 154-pound division for much longer.
The undefeated 28-year-old Australian has declared he only wants big fights from here on out in his career with his ultimate goal being a shot at undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 60-2-2 (39).
The 33-year-old Mexican superstar is fresh off an easy unanimous points win over former undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo 35-2-1 (19) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 30.
Houston’s Charlo, 33, was scheduled to face Tszyu last January before withdrawing with a hand injury.
Tszyu hasn’t ruled out facing Charlo in the future, but he is far more interested in testing his skills against undisputed welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 40-0 (31) or the 36-year-old switch-hitter’s recent victim Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr 28-1 (22) if either of them wants to move up in weight.
“If the boys do move up, I’m willing to take any big challenge there is,” Tszyu said to FightHype. “I’m not gonna be too long at 154. Maybe for the next year or so and then I’ll eventually move up to 160.”
Before those fight can happen Tszyu will need to get past upset specialist Brian ‘La Bala’ Mendoza 22-2 (16) who he will face at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Broadbeach, Australia on Sunday afternoon local time.
The 29-year-old American proved his fifth-round knockout victory over former WBA and IBF junior middleweight champion Jeison ‘Banana’ Rosario 23-4-1 (17) last November was no fluke when he starched top contender Sebastian ‘The Towering Inferno’ Fundora 20-1-1 (13) in seven rounds in April.
Tszyu knows he will have to remain on point against Mendoza for the full 12 rounds or as long as the bout lasts.
“I think he’s talented, he’s good at what he does and has been proving everyone wrong, and he’s on a roll,” Tszyu said to Premier Boxing Champions.
“Fundora is always a tough challenge. Fundora was landing a lot of shots at the same time, but he just got him in the right spot.
“Fundora was the one that made the mistake. It was it was simple. You make the mistake, you pay, and Fundora went with a wild left uppercut and took his right hand off the chin, and then it was a simple textbook left hook. It was one second out of concentration and that’s all it took.”
Former interim titleholder Tszyu inherited the full WBO championship from Charlo when the American was stripped of the belt the moment the first bell rang for his fight against Alvarez.
But he is not satisfied with just one piece of hardware.
“I still want the big names and the big titles. I’m not content until I have all four belts and the names Charlo and Mendoza on the resume,” Tszyu said.
“So one belt just because the Charlo fight [didn’t happen], it’s not rewarding for myself. I feel like at this level now, every fight should feel like a world title.
“We’re at that one percenter now, fighting the very top of the division. So that mindset of the world title on the line every time is what I keep striving for.”
Tszyu added he won’t be waiting around to find out what Charlo wants to do next.
“That’s up to him. That’s the question that everyone needs to ask him. What’s he doing? Who knows? He might go on a two-year vacation after this,” he said.
“It’s all up to him, but if the opportunity arises and he’s willing to get in, then I’m there.
“I feel like I have options. There are plenty of different names in the division. I can even move up to 160, 168. It really doesn’t bother me.”
