Tim Tszyu and Tony Harrison.
Tim Tszyu’s upcoming opponent Tony Harrison has dismissed the Aussie slugger ahead of their fight for the WBO super welterweight title in Melbourne in March.
In his first fight on home soil since 2021, Tszyu will be vying for a maiden world title.
Tszyu was scheduled to battle undisputed super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo in Las Vegas last Sunday – with all four belts on the line.
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However, the fight was postponed after Charlo broke his left hand in training.
In the absence of Charlo, Tszyu said Harrison was his best bet for a high-profile fight.
Speaking on Brian Custer’s The Last Stand podcast, Harrison said he does not see anything special about Tszyu, and claims he will dispose of him to set up a third fight against Charlo.
Harrison is the only fighter to have defeated Charlo – getting the best of him in their first title fight in December 2019 by a controversial, but unanimous, decision.
However, a year later, Charlo settled the score with an 11th-round TKO win over Harrison.
“[When Charlo hurt his hand] I felt like I lost something that belonged to me, and my whole road to get what I lost back,” Harrison said of contesting a trilogy with Charlo.
“For me to get the fight with Tim Tszyu, I’m like damn, he’s already No.1 (contender), he’s already next up, if I skip the line and just go and fight a guy like that – it just made perfect sense for me.”
Harrison defeated Sergio Garcia by a 10-round unanimous decision last April.
He claimed his fight with Tszyu would play out in the same fashion.
“My last fight was just preparation for the same kind of guy I’m facing,” he said.
”Tim is a very tough fighter but he’s just so basic to me.
“He’s somebody I see around the block, he’s like somebody at the park when I’m fighting somebody at the park. There’s nothing special about him. His defence is not stellar, his offence ain’t stellar. He’s just a very tough competitor.
“Everybody ain’t blessed with power, and besides the power, there’s nothing else that I don’t have. 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.”
Harrison believes a win over Tsyzu will shore up a third and final fight with Charlo – allowing him to potentially finish his boxing career on top.
“They got me going against one of the top guys, one of the best people in the world. 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,” he said.
“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.”
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