By Adam Baskin: Tim Tszyu and Tony Harrison weighed 153 1/2 pounds on Friday for their fight for the interim WBO junior middleweight title on Saturday at the Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia. The action kicks off 10:45 p.m. ET/7:45 p.m. PT on Showtime on Saturday night.
Former WBC 154-lb champion Harrison (29-3-1, 21 KOs), wearing a baseball cap, towered over Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs) during the face-off and smiled the whole time as if he knew he was going to win.
There’s a lot on the line for the Tszyu vs. Harrison fight on Saturday, as the winner will challenge undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo for his four titles next and get a nice payday to boot.
At this point in Harrison’s career, he’d likely just be happy to get the payday fighting Charlo because he’s shown no desire to stay busy and fight quality opposition since his loss to Jermell in their rematch four years ago in 2019.
With the 32-year-old Harrison’s inactivity and how he’s looked in his last three fights, he’s likely to fall apart from the pressure from Tszyu in the mid to late rounds. Harrison has been too inactive to hang with a younger fighter like Tszyu.
Harrison says Tszyu was “shaking” during face-off
“I got my cheekbones sucked in like I’m an alien. I feel amazing. I made weight extremely well and extremely calculated this time,” said Tony Harrison to the media after the weigh-in. “To me, this has always been the hardest part.
“He needs to be fairly scared of what’s happening tomorrow,” Harrison continued. “Whatever my body lets me put back on. I’m not looking to walk in the ring at 180 lbs. Whatever my body allows me to carry, I want to carry that weight.
“I think he knows the weight of the world is on his shoulders right now, and I don’t think he understands how he’s going to carry it. I was looking into his eyes, and he was shaking. He’s been shaking every day all the way up until today.
“For me, he’s nervous. I think this time and presence; it’s nervous for him. It’s been dwelling on him. I can see nerves in him.
“I think it hurt him,” said Harrison when asked how he thinks Tszyu did the weight. I saw him yesterday, and his lips were all white and dried out.
“I seen him today, and he looked like he was struggling. None of that matters. The only thing that matters is how he performs tomorrow,” said Harrison.