At the kick-off press conference held on the 8th of February in Australia, Tony Harrison questioned how Tim Tszyu received the opportunity to fight undisputed Super Welterweight champion, Jermell Charlo, for all his titles – an opportunity which is now put on the line in his fight with Harrison, as the winner of their bout will be matched with Charlo afterwards.
“We need to talk to management, because for him to be at the doorstep, for all the marbles, and you accept to fight the only man that beat the man that you looking to beat? I think we need to talk to management with this one.” Tony Harrison (29-3-1, 21 KO’s) lightly bantered at the press conference.
![Harrison questions Tszyu's opportunity for world title fight with Charlo image 1](https://premierboxingvault.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Harrison-questions-Tszyus-opportunity-for-world-title-fight-with-Charlo-image-1.jpg)
Harrison did hit at a point that described the landscape of boxing. Though Tim Tszyu (21-0, 15 KO’s) is unbeaten and deserving of a title shot, Harrison highlighted the lack of opportunities some boxers get while doing the same amount of work and having the same type of tough fights as those that get actual chances to fight for world titles.
“I’m not knocking him (Tszyu) being tough, but my thing is, when you look at my road, and the things I had to do, and the obstacles I had to jump over… I mean, he took the elevator, I took the stairs. So I’m just like “how did he get there?”. Somebody just make it make sense to me, how did he get there?
“He beat everybody in his backyard, you know how big his backyard is?”
Tim Tszyu has fought nearly his entire career in his homeland of Australia, and only participated in a bout outside his home nation when he fought contender Terrell Gausha (22-3-1, 11 KO’s) in a thrilling match on the 26th of March in 2022. He boasts a credible list of opponents on his resume, however, earning him some respect in the boxing world as he moved up the ladder after several good fights against highly-rated opponents such as former WBO Welterweight champion, Jeff Horn (20-3-1, 13 KO’s), former two-time world title challenger Dennis Hogan (31-4-1, 7 KO’s), and Japan’s number one Junior Middleweight/Super Welterweight in Takeshi Inoue (19-2-1, 11 KO’s).
Tim Tszyu remained calm and poised when confronted on his own chances against Harrison and potentially Charlo, as well as his goals in the sport of boxing.
“I came into this sport not just to knock around, but to really take over.” Tszyu said at the presser. “I’ve been in the ring and a lot of people say a lot of things. But when they get into the ring it’s a dog fight.
“Talk is cheaper. Action speaks louder than words, so my main focus is to focus when the fight gets on.”
The fight between Tony Harrison and Tim Tszyu will be held at the Qudos Bank Arena in New South Wales, Australia, on Sunday, March 12.