WBO junior middleweight titleholder Tim Tszyu 24-0 (17) is looking for a big name opponent in his first US fight as champion in March.
The 29-year-old Australian was elevated from interim to full champ with his unanimous decision victory over Brian Mendoza 22-3 (16) on the Gold Coast in Queensland last month.
Tszyu was scheduled to face then-undisputed 154-pound champion Jermell Charlo 35-2-1 (19) in January before the 33-year-old Texan was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury.
Rather than reschedule, Charlo opted for the more lucrative option of moving up two weight classes to face Mexican superstar and undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 60-2-2 (39) in Las Vegas in September, a bout he lost on points.
Charlo is now expected to return to the junior middleweight division where he still retains the WBC, WBA and IBF belt.
Tszyu would be happy to accommodate Charlo if he wants to become a two-time undisputed champion in the 154-pound weight class.
“We’ll never stop discussions with Jermell Charlo,” said George Rose, CEO of No Limit Boxing to Fox Sports Australia. “He’s been on the radar for a very, very long time and he’s not someone that will ever fall off, but he still holds them belts, so that’s something that Tim wants to take off him.
“So discussions with Jermell Charlo will continue until he’s ready to actually step in the ring, but I would say again, do not hold your breath on Jermell Charlo. We’ve held our breath multiple times before and he hasn’t stepped into the ring.
“Let’s keep doing what Tim Tszyu does and keep getting them wins and he has no choice but to step in the ring with the rightful kind of the 154-pound division. He’s at the point where he’s being mandated to fight for his IBF title, so I’ll say that the other sanctioning bodies won’t be far behind.
“He’s got to fight. When you’re the champion and you’re holding multiple belts, you’ve got to be active. Tim is someone that would do that. It doesn’t matter how many belts Tim would own; he’d fight ten times a year if he could. It’s hard to slow him down. He’s got no quit in him.
“We’re looking for the big American opportunities, the biggest opportunity for Tim. You’ve got Errol Spence, Terence Crawford, Jermell Charlo, Erickson Lubin and Danny Garcia.
“Even if you move up in weight, you’ve got Jermall Charlo, you got [Erislandy] Lara, you got Canelo, who’s only two weight divisions away. We saw that Jermell Charlo had no fear of stepping in with Canelo. That’s something that Tim would absolutely thrive on if he was given the opportunity as well.
“Any big-name fighter like that, Tim is going to jump at the opportunity and so will we. We’ll do everything we can to make it happen. But when you’re in the red-hot form that Tim is in right now, you’re not a guy that people really want to step in the ring for anything less than a massive payday.
“We’ll wait and see how that plays out. If that doesn’t play out, then he’ll be looking at the next best guys in the 154 and looking to get a few more belts. If anything is vacated, he’ll be the first man to dive on it and put his hand up for it.
“He wants the belts, he wants big fights. That’s the two things that we choose for the next fight are availability, belts and big names. So whoever is willing to put their hand up for Tim Tszyu is going to get a nice little surprise in Vegas.”
