Tim Tszyu says Jermell Charlo = “Angry and miserable person”

By Boxing News - 05/16/2022 - Comments

By Jim Calfa: Tim Tszyu says he views Jermell Charlo as an “angry and miserable person” after watching him snap at the post-fight press conference last Saturday night following his tenth-round knockout win over Brian Castano in their 154-lb undisputed championship.

Tszyu was surprised that Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) was literally hopping mad after his most significant career achievement in becoming the undisputed champion after his stoppage win over Castano (17-1-2, 12 KOs) in Carson, California.

Charlo was angry from the get-go at the post-fight press conference, reacting like a lion after one of his former critics from the media asked him a question.

Moments later, when Tszyu’s name was mentioned to Jermell, it was like throwing gasoline on a fire. Jermell looked like he was ready for a straight jacket because he went off big time and never seemed to get to a happy place.

Charlo had a wild-eyed look to him, and it was difficult to understand why he was so upset at the mere mention of Tszyu’s name.

Tszyu: Charlo is an angry person

“Yeah, why not? I’ll fight anywhere,” said Tim Tszyu to Fighthype when asked if he’d be willing to fight Jermell Charlo in his home state of Texas.

“I saw that. Charlo is an angry and miserable person, you know?” said Tszyu in reacting to Jermell’s angry rant at the post-fight press conference last Saturday night when an Australian reporter asked him a question about Tim.

“He just won four belts, the biggest fight of his career, his biggest achievement in his career, and he’s sitting there being angry, going off at all the reporters.

“He’s just an angry person; that’s all I can say,” said Tszyu about the agitated Jermell. “I don’t know. It can work both ways,” said Tszyu when asked if it helps Charlo to be angry and have a chip on his shoulder.

“To fight Charlo, you’ve got to be smart. He sets traps, he’s got counters, and he’s got a good variety of punches. You’ve got to be smart and be aware, and of course, not just walk forward in a straight line. You’ve got to apply smart pressure,” said Tszyu about how to beat Charlo.

Jermell must fight Tszyu or vacate his WBO belt

“If Charlo can’t fight in three or four months, then he vacates the [WBO] belt, and I fight whoever is the next available challenger on the list,” said Tszyu.

“Yeah, I’d welcome a fight with Harrison if Charlo vacates the belt. Yeah, I’ve been mandatory for two years now,” said Tszyu when asked if the WBA or WBO mandatory is due next for Charlo.

“I’d prefer those boys, but a title fight is a title fight,” said Tszyu when asked if he would be upset if Jermell chose to vacate his WBO title rather than facing him.

“Of course, the whole sport is a growing sport, and there’s so much to learn. But, man, I want Charlo next. I really want him. He thinks it would be easy. I know he doesn’t rate me too much or his trainer [Derrick James], but when you’re in the ring with me, it’s a completely different story.

“He was talking smack about me before,” said Tszyu in reacting to being told that Errol Spence Jr took a shot at him, saying, ‘He’s trash.’ “He said to Terrell [Gausha] to ‘get rid of the hype job.’ What happened then, Errol?

“I’m not a hype job after all, huh? Yeah, 100%, I’d love to,” said Tszyu when told that we may see him and Spence fight someday. “Yeah, we’re both walk forward fighters. We’ll see who takes the first step backward,” said Tszyu.

Tim surprised by small crowd

“Me and Fundora will definitely meet in the future,” Tszyu continued. “Like chopping down a tree. You start from the bottom, don’t you? He’s got a mean left uppercut, and he uses it well, and he likes to fight inside as well. If I was him with his long arms, I’d be fighting on the outside, but he likes to bang on full Mexican style.

“Look, if he’s willing to come to Australia, he’s more than welcome,” Tszyu continued. “In my fights, I had a bigger crowd than a couple of days ago [for the Charlo vs. Brian Castano match], and I’m not even a world champ.

“These guys were fighting for four belts, and when there were four belts in Australia, I couldn’t even tell you how many people would come.

“The Japanese fellow I fought at the end of 2000, that was still with COVID restrictions, and that was sold out with 38,000. Those guys [Jermell and Brian Castano] fought for the undisputed, and that was 8,000. That baffled me. Are they not mainstream?” said Tszyu.

“When you talk about warriors, it’s an overused term, but it’s really an accurate term when you look at how those guys fought and the kind of show they put on,” said Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza to Fighthype about the Jermell vs. Brian Castano fight from last weekend.

“I think we saw a different Jermell Charlo in the ring. That’s what brings out a champion in a fighter when they’re being pushed. That’s why everybody pushes for a big fight.

“A big fight brings out the best in fighters. Here is the other thing to. We’re used to seeing a very cocky bordering on arrogant Jermell Charlo, but we also saw a different Jermell Charlo after the fight.

“A much more humble one, which is ironic because, at the moment of his biggest victory, he was the most humble. That was one of the most surprising things is that I think Jermell was genuinely touched by the significance of what he achieved.

“In a night of big moments, it was a small moment, but it was very meaningful,” said Espinoza.

“You really can’t criticize either guy. Nobody lost that fight, and it could have gone a hundred different ways. It just happened that a punch here and a punch there makes all the difference,” Espinoza continued.

“You’ve got to give it to Charlo. There were points where it looked like he was starting to fade. He made an adjustment and started boxing more, and he just broke him down,” said Espinoza.

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