By Dan Ambrose: Jermell Charlo will defend his undisputed junior middleweight championship against WBO mandatory Tim Tszyu on Showtime January 28th on Showtime at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Jermell needs a win over Tszyu to move him on to bigger & better things against Sebastian ‘The Towering Inferno’ Fundora, Terence Crawford, and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Jermell doesn’t view Tszyu as a credible threat to his reign, and he’ll be looking to show the boxing fans that he doesn’t belong inside the same ring with him.
Given Jermell’s inactivity, you can’t rule out a victory for Tszyu over the 32-year-old four-belt champion. Since 2020, Charlo has fought just once a year, and that’s not nearly enough to stay sharp, particularly when you’re a fighter in his 30s.
Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) is taking on one of his better challengers since he first became a world champion in 2016. He’s facing a big puncher in 28-year-old Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs) in a fight that has knockout written all over it.
Jermell, 32, is the favorite to win, but you never know. He’s already lost to Tony Harrison in 2018, and many boxing fans believe he deserved a loss in his first fight against Brian Castano in July. That fight, which took place in San Antonio, Texas, was scored as a questionable 12 round draw.
“Stylistically, Charlo vs. Tszyu is one of the most attractive fights that can be made in boxing, given Jermell and Tim’s aggressive temperaments in the ring,” said Showtime boss Stephen Espinoza.
“After hosting Tim’s U.S. debut in March, we’re thrilled to see him challenge Jermell and dare to be great. Jermell and Tim have never shied away from a challenge, and this stacks up to be a real Fight of the Year type match-up.”
Tszyu must raise his game for him to have a chance of defeating Jermell Charlo for his undisputed junior middleweight championship next January.
Last March, Tszyu squeaked by Terrell Gausha, winning a close 12 round decision after getting dropped in the first round. Tszyu was getting hit a lot throughout the contest, but his power bailed him out in the second half of the fight, as he landed the harder shots to impress the judges.