Jermell Charlo conceded Tim Tszyu is a “solid fighter” but claims it’s “not nothing” he’s ever seen before or dealt with and took a subtle dig at how he fought against Tony Harrison.
Tszyu stopped Harrison, the only man to have beaten Charlo, in the ninth round of their bout on March 12 to take home the interim WBO super welterweight championship.
Watch PPV Boxing: Benavidez v Plant LIVE on Main Event on Kayo Sports. Sunday 26 March 1pm AEDT. ORDER NOW >
It means Tszyu is yet again locked in for a title shot against Charlo several months after they were initially set to face off before the latter sustained a broken hand during sparring in December.
Charlo watched Tszyu’s scrap with Harrison as part of Showtime’s coverage in the United States and wasn’t immediately impressed with what he saw.
And, rather unsurprisingly, the undisputed champ doubled down on his claims about Tszyu’s skill set.
“He’s [Tszyu] a solid fighter,” Charlo told The Last Stand podcast with Bryan Custer.
“He’s strong, he comes to fight. But it’s not nothing I’ve never seen before or dealt with.
MORE COVERAGE
‘Next chapter is going to be huge’: World title boxer’s knockout legal blow in bitter contract dispute
‘You’re a chicken’: Zerafa hits back after bombshell world title claims, promises glory
‘Far out’: Tszyu reveals frank Kostya advice … and takes cheeky dig at ‘stuttering’ Charlo
“I’ve been boxing my whole life, seen almost every style. I don’t think he possesses something that makes it tough for me that I can’t handle.”
Charlo anticipates a fight against Tszyu sometime during the American summer, claiming “it could be August, it could be July, it could be whenever.”
It gives the 32-year-old even more time to study Tszyu and what he brings to the table, although he feels the Aussie wasn’t as impressive as he perhaps could have been against Harrison.
“I actually thought he [Tszyu] would’ve done a lot more than what he did against Tony,” Charlo said.
“But he did enough to get the win and get the knockout. But that has a lot to do with Tony.
“Tony wasn’t the best Tony I felt in that fight. He’s faded out. Like I say, after I knocked him out, what else could he have done, what else could he do?
“That’s why he took this opportunity to fly all the way to Australia to possibly see if he had enough, but he didn’t.”