‘He should be stripped, it’s becoming ridiculous’: Tsyzu talks Charlo facing Canelo
Tim Tsyzu says Jermell Charlo is holding up the division by being allowed to retain his junior middleweight titles as he gets ready to face Canelo Alvarez.
Junior middleweight contender Tim Tszyu is on the outside looking in now that it’s been announced that undisputed champion Jermell Charlo will be moving up to fight Canelo Alvarez at 168. In an interview with Fight Hub TV, Tszyu admits that while he can’t completely fault Charlo for taking the opportunity at hand, he believes his belts should be stripped in order to keep the 154 lb division active. Check out some of what he had to say below.
Tszyu on the news he won’t be fighting Jermell Charlo for the junior middleweight titles
“I thought it was a joke at first, because the whole time I thought, it was getting discussed, I thought his big older brother was going to fight Canelo. So I thought it was a joke at first and then when it was actually official I was a bit in shock, didn’t understand what was going on at the time. But, yeah, it is what it is, I guess.
“Waking up to it I was like ‘ah man, this can’t be real, for sure.’ And then I saw it on the Canelo official page so, yeah.”
On who he called after hearing the news
“My manager....I say ‘this is a piss take, right?’ That’s exactly what I said, ‘this is a joke, right?’ And now they confirmed it.”
On what he thinks of Jermell Charlo’s choice to face Canelo instead of him
“Any fighter would (take Canelo fight). Canelo is the man of boxing, he’s the face of boxing. So if anyone gets offered that fight they’re gonna take it. It’s quite simple.
“I think the fact that he hasn’t fought in nearly a year-and-a-half, I’ve been mandatory for the WBO title for nearly, what, nearly three years now. And it’s too much politics. If he’s not fighting then the belts have to be vacated, it’s quite simple. It’s not fair because the whole division is being held up by him. So it just doesn’t make any sense to me. So right now it is what it is, that’s how I see it.”
On if he’s angry that he’s not being afford his opportunity at a world title
“There is a bit of anger, of course there’s a bit of anger. He’s been on my hit list for such a long time, it’s been my goal. Everything was discussed, everything was ready, and then his brother decides to pull off something and ‘Mell decides to take it. There’s not much to say about it.
“I think it was gonna be in Vegas on October 14th (when I would’ve fought Jermell)...I think it was MGM from what I remember.”
On if he’s received any indication on what will happen with Charlo’s 154 lb titles in the meantime
“Not sure. But I think he should be stripped. It’s becoming ridiculous. It’s not fair, you know. And I think for ‘Mell to go up to 168, I don’t think he’s gonna come back down and start defending all his mandatories, so I think they’re going to make it ‘undisputed vs undisputed’ as a marketing-type thing, and then he’s going to be stripped. That’s my thoughts.”
On being on the cusp of fighting for undisputed whereas now there’s a likelihood that Charlo’s titles get scattered, creating much more work for him to consolidate the belts
“Yeah, yeah. To become the undisputed champion, it takes years...I understand that, yeah. I’m not staying in this division for as long as possible. So if I can make those big fights happen now, possibly unify, be able to fight for two belts or something like that, then that’s what I’m doing. And now I’m gonna chase ‘Mell anyway, wherever he goes....I want ‘Mell...even for no belts, I’ll fight him for no belts at all. Belts don’t bother me, it’s just the names on the resume that I want.”
On why he wants to fight Jermell Charlo so badly
“It’s just, he’s been the man in the division, he’s been the man that I’ve wanted to fight for such a long time. So, you know, for me to beat each one individually and take those belts would be cool, but he’s the one that did it first and he’s the name that I want and I’ll fight him for no belts. It doesn’t bother me.”