By Matt Lieberman: Tim Tszyu (23-0, 17 KOs) says he’s ready to take on the top dog at 154 in Jermell Charlo next after massacring Carlos Ocampo (34-3, 22 KOs) by a first round knockout last Sunday evening.
WBO interim junior middleweight champion Tszyu said at the post-fight press conference that he doesn’t think Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) to avoid fighting him later this year in October.
However, it will be tough on Charlo to face Tszyu because he’ll be coming off a long layoff of 17 months when he faces him. Jermell hasn’t fought since May 2022 in his tenth round knockout of the smallish 5’7 1/2″ Brian Castano.
Unfortunately for Jermell, he can’t delay the with Tszyu any longer, as he’s his World Boxing Organization 154-lb mandatory, and the fight has already been ordered.
It would look bad on Jermell’s part if he vacates or is stripped of his belt for failure to face Tszyu. Many fans already think Charlo is malingering with his hand injury to escape returning to the front lines to face Tszyu. He doesn’t want to return to the front like a good soldier.
A lot of people think that Jermell’s broken left hand, which was late last year, should have already been healed a long, long time ago, and the way that he STILL hasn’t returned to work suggests to them that he’s faking being still hurt because he’s avoiding the dangerous Tszyu.
Jermell would still have his IBF, WBA & WBC belts, so it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he gives up his WBO strap, but the backlash would be huge if he didn’t face Tszyu.
In the knockout video below of Tszyu vs. Ocampo, you could see that Tim was too powerful for the Mexican warrior, as he made quick work of him with two knockdowns to get the KO in the 1st round.
The results of Tszyu’s 1st round KO of Ocampo showed that the inactive 33-year-old Charlo has plenty to worry about when he finally returns from his broken hand injury.
Tszyu’s quick knockout of Ocampo pleased the fans on Sunday night at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia.
The only negative that could come from the early knockout is that it happened too quickly for fans to fully enjoy seeing the 28-year-old Tszyu in action. The fight ended at 1:17 of the first, preventing the fans from seeing Tim in action for long.
“It doesn’t matter. I think even in January, I would have got
the job done [against Jermell Charlo],” said Tim Tszyu at the post-fight press conference last Sunday night when asked if he was better off by not fighting Jermell Charlo last January because he’s had two fights this year to help him develop more.
“It’s good to have two fights in between because the fight gets more interesting. I’m definitely that top dog just under him. He’s the man, and I’m just under him.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t he? He’s not dodging. He’s had an injury,” said Tszyu when asked if he thinks Jermell will show up to fight him next.
“I got the job done nice & quick [against Ocampo]. I was pumped up. It wasn’t like a happiness moment, but more like, ‘Who’s next?'” said Tszyu on what went through his head moments after his first round knockout of Ocampo.