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Tszyu-Charlo super fight off, but Zerafa vows to fill void
Tim Tszyu won’t have to look far for an opponent after his long-awaited clash against undisputed champion Jermell Charlo was sensationally called off, with compatriot Michael Zerafa vowing to fill the void.
The World Boxing Organisation has mandated for Tszyu and Charlo to fight before September 30, but the latter will instead move up two weight divisions for a shot at Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in Las Vegas on that date.
Alvarez was scheduled to fight Charlo’s twin brother, Jermall, but a late switch will result in a huge money-spinner being promoted as “undisputed versus undisputed”. That tagline may prove somewhat misleading given the WBO will likely strip Charlo of his super-welterweight title, meaning Tszyu will be upgraded from interim champion to full champion. However, it is not the way the “Soul Taker” wanted to earn the belt.
Tszyu aired his frustrations on Instagram, posting: “canelo ducks [David] benavidez. Charlo ducks Tszyu #boxing”.
The development is a bitter blow for Tszyu, who was supremely confident of defeating Charlo to become just the 10th undisputed champion in the four-belt era. The 28-year-old in March beat Tony Harrison, the only man to defeat Charlo, and then destroyed Mexican Carlos Ocampo in the first round on the Gold Coast last month.
While Tszyu’s next move is unclear, one option is to go up a weight division and challenge Jermall, who is the WBC middleweight champion. Another is a bout against Zerafa, who is on the cusp of his own world title bout.
The Tim Tszyu-Jermell Charlo won’t go ahead.Credit: Getty
Tszyu and Zerafa were set to fight in 2021, but the latter pulled out at the last minute. Zerafa has long predicted that the Tszyu-Charlo bout would never eventuate and said he wants a belated crack at his Australian rival.
“I’m ready, I’ve always been ready,” Zerafa said. “The circumstances were out of my hands with the first fight. I never pulled out of that fight.
“I’ve got a world title [shot]; he thinks he has a world title. I’m happy to fight him and shut him up once and for all. My manager deals with everything for me and I know for a fact that he wants that [Tszyu] fight.
“Australia wants that fight. The world wants that fight. Zerafa v Tszyu is the biggest fight in boxing, it’s huge, it’s [Anthony] Mundine-[Danny] Green all over again.
The Tim Tszyu-Michael Zerafa bout may belatedly go ahead.Credit: James Alcock
“For me, if it makes dollars it makes sense. If it sets up something bigger in the future, I’m more than happy to take that fight. Let’s put it all on the line because, for me, that’s a legacy fight.
“I can redeem myself. Everyone thinks I ran away and chickened out of that fight. Me and Tim Tszyu is redemption for me. I’m coming to take his head off his shoulders.”
Zerafa, ranked No.1 in the World Boxing Association, will fight on the undercard of the Danny Garcia-Erislandy Lara clash in August against an opponent yet to be confirmed. The Victorian is guaranteed a shot against the winner by the end of the year.
“Now that I am world No.1 and a mandatory [challenger] for a world title, the tables have turned,” Zerafa said. “I’m getting my world title fight before Tim Tszyu.
“I knew that all along. I let him talk, laid low and let the media spin their crap because, at the end of the day, I always knew this was going to happen. I called it months ago.
“That [Tszyu] fight needs to happen, it will happen. That’s a redemption fight for me.”
Meanwhile, Jeff Horn will officially hang up his boxing gloves three years since he last left the ring.
The Brisbane 35-year-old is set to call time on his career on Sunday in a media conference at Suncorp Stadium, exactly six years after he shocked legend Manny Pacquiao at the venue to win a world title.
Horn (20-3-1) defended his WBO welterweight belt once, before a loss to Terence Crawford in Las Vegas in 2018.
He then beat Anthony Mundine and split two fights with Zerafa, before Tszyu stepped out of his shadows in a dominating victory in Townsville in August, 2020.
That loss felt like a swansong for Horn, but he has never confirmed his retirement despite remaining inactive.
with AAP
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