Australian fighter Tim Tszyu, who recently became the WBO super welterweight champion, defended his world title for the first time on October 15th against American WBC interim champion Brian Mendoza. The two battled for twelve rounds, and Tszyu was declared the winner by unanimous decision (UD). This fight headlined a card at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia.
Tim Tszyu (24-0, 17 KO’s) secured a clear victory on the judges’ scorecards with scores of 116-112, 116-111, and 117-111, though Brian Mendoza (22-3, 16 KO’s) demonstrated that he was no pushover despite suffering his second career loss.
With Tszyu’s WBO super welterweight title at stake, both fighters wasted no time trading blows from the opening round. The initial rounds appeared to be closely contested, with both Tszyu and Mendoza putting in considerable effort to gain the upper hand.
Tszyu took a more aggressive approach, attempting to assert himself against Mendoza. However, this approach provided Mendoza with opportunities for counterpunching, which is typically his strong suit as a boxer. Unfortunately, Mendoza was unable to implement his pressure style effectively in this fight.
It appeared that Tszyu had certain physical advantages, particularly in terms of conditioning, which allowed him to win most of the rounds. While Mendoza was not ineffective when fighting on the back foot, it was clear that he had not been adequately prepared for this approach, giving Tszyu the upper hand offensively.
Mendoza’s spirit and ability to counterpunch proved admirable during his fight with Tszyu. Although Tszyu was not an extraordinary defensive fighter himself, he was occasionally caught by Mendoza’s counters. However, Tszyu managed to offset this by increasing his combinations and effectively setting up his right hand with his jabs.
As both fighters excel at fighting inside the pocket, the match evolved into a battle in certain rounds, with both super welterweights landing multiple combinations throughout the fight. However, Tszyu seemed to be on the path to success due to his higher punch output and its effectiveness, which allowed him to win most of the rounds.
Overall, the match-up was intriguing, showcasing the best of both fighters, each facing a determined opponent. Tszyu was ultimately named the winner by unanimous decision after the twelve rounds, but Mendoza proved himself to be a worthy competitor and one of the best in the 154 lbs division. Tszyu successfully defended his world title for the first time in his career, maintaining his undefeated record.
Both Tim Tszyu and Brian Mendoza can anticipate new opportunities following their match. Tszyu, having recently defended the belt he gained on September 30th after the previous titleholder―Jermell Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KO’s)―was stripped of the WBO title, called out Charlo following his UD victory. Charlo is still the unified champion at super welterweight, holding the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles.
“Charlooo… where you at?” Tszyu taunted after his title defense.
When asked what Jermell Charlo would think of Tszyu’s performance against Brian Mendoza, the Australian was forthright in his response: “He’ll probably, in his delusional head, think he’s going to beat me.
“Come get it, come get it!” Tszyu dared the American unified super welterweight champion.
“I think now, let’s prove who’s the best at 154 lbs. Let’s show everyone who is truly the king of the division.“
Tszyu and Charlo were slated to fight each other at the beginning of this year before an injury led to the cancellation of the potential bout. Jermell Charlo subsequently declined to defend his titles against Tszyu, opting to move up two weight classes to fight Canelo Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KO’s) in what turned out to be a disappointing performance and was considered one of the worst in his career.
The two fighters are now poised for a potential undisputed title fight, which largely depends on Charlo’s willingness to engage with Tim Tszyu in what promises to be a historic matchup.
Brian Mendoza himself is not devoid of new opponents to fight. He still seems to be the WBC interim champion—since the interim title was not in contention in this world title bout—following his match against Tszyu, giving him the option to face Jermell Charlo, who holds the full WBC world title.
A potential match against fellow American Erickson Lubin (26-2, 18 KO’s) could be on the cards, as well as fights with other highly-rated contenders on the WBC’s super welterweight rankings who are in a position to challenge his interim champion status. In any case, Mendoza conducted himself professionally and competently in the build-up to his fight with Tszyu, and the match itself, and there are plenty of fights left for him to prove himself once more.
The rest of the PBC-promoted fight card featured no notable fighters except for Australian super bantamweight contender Sam Goodman (16-0, 7 KO’s), who maintained his undefeated record with a UD victory over Mexican fighter Miguel Flores (25-5-1, 12 KO’s).
