Jermell Charlo is trying to revive a Tim Tszyu fight that belonged in 2023. Strip away the branding, and it is two fighters running out of options trying to cash in on expiration-date heat.
Charlo has not won since stopping Brian Castaño in May 2022. His last victory over anyone other than Castaño came against Jeison Rosario in September 2020. Now 36, he wants to return from another lengthy absence without taking a tune-up.
Ring Magazine relayed Charlo’s claim that Tszyu will be his next opponent following a conversation with Al Haymon. No date, venue, weight class, or broadcast arrangement has been announced.
Charlo and Tszyu were originally scheduled to meet in January 2023. Charlo broke his left hand in two places during training, forcing the fight to be postponed.
The matchup never received another date. Charlo later replaced his twin brother, Jermall Charlo, against Canelo Alvarez in September 2023. He moved up two divisions, collected the largest purse of his career, and spent twelve rounds in survival mode while making little attempt to win.
That performance showed where Charlo’s priorities were. He took the enormous check, avoided unnecessary exchanges, accepted a wide decision loss, and stopped fighting.
A serious comeback would require Charlo to face a capable gatekeeper on regular television, work through the rust, and earn another major opportunity for far less money. Instead, he can dust off an old rivalry with Tszyu and pursue another pay-per-view cut without proving that he remains a competitive fighter.
Tszyu has his own reason to cooperate. He defeated 36-year-old Errol Spence Jr. on July 26 but labored against an opponent returning from nearly three years of inactivity. Tszyu did not resemble the forceful pressure fighter who beat Brian Mendoza in 2023.
The losses to Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev changed his position at junior middleweight. Remaining there would leave him trying to rebuild against younger fighters whose speed, power, and recent activity present greater danger than Charlo does after three years away.
Moving to middleweight gives Tszyu access to older former champions such as Charlo and Erislandy Lara. Those names provide recognition without forcing him directly into the younger end of the division.
Charlo against Tszyu once carried real sporting value. That fight expired years ago. Boxing is now trying to sell yesterday’s leftovers at full menu price, using a canceled 2023 contest to disguise matchmaking driven almost entirely by the wallet.