Tszyu Jr. received a belt. Who will Timofey fight next?
Aug 3, 2023 13:45 UTC Audio Version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The fight for two titles is already in sight.
The World Boxing Association (WBO) issued an official press release this morning according to which current world middleweight champion Jermell Charlo will lose his belt. The new holder of the title will be Timofey Tszyu.
All because of Charlo’s agreement to fight Saúl Álvarez. Rather than give the mandatory challenger in Tim a shot, Jermell moved on to another weight class.
At the same time, the WBO to some extent goes towards the champion: “The WBO will sanction the Álvarez-Charlo fight, scheduled for September 30, 2023 in Las Vegas. Charlo will be able to enter the ring as a WBO champion and will be declared the champion. Once Charlo steps into the ring that day and is officially introduced as the WBO junior middleweight champion, he will lose the status and recognition of him as the WBO champion.”
Charlo left Tszyu Jr. without a chance to fight for the title:
Charlo escaped, and then who should get hit next? What will happen to Timofey Tszyu’s career
What’s next for Tszyu’s career? After he changes the interim title to a permanent one, he will be given an opponent with whom Tim will make his first defense. This is expected to be the current WBC interim world champion, Brian Mendoza. The American in April knocked out Sebastián Fundora and seized the belt.
There is one more nuance. The World Boxing Council (WBC) can follow the example of the WBO and deprive Jermell Charlo of another title. In this case, Tszyu and Mendoza will fight, even for a permanent WBC title.
This scenario is indirectly confirmed by Tim’s father, Kostya Tszyu: “There will always be other rivals. Charlo will not be there, there will be another one. Now Timofey goes against the WBC champion, he will have a title unification.
Charlo can only blame himself for this turn of events. For more than a year, the division has lived alone, because the absolute champion is idle. Yes, a hand injury prevented him from doing so, but after that, Jermell also expressed no desire to return to the ring and defend the belts. However, after Tszyu defeated Ocampo and challenged Charlo again, the champion raised his voice. Having indicated his desire to fight Timofey, the American suddenly changed his mind and accepted the duel with Saúl Álvarez. You can understand Jermell, this is a much louder fight, but the belt deprivation is absolutely deserved.
Tim Tszyu should become the undisputed world champion:
Tszyu Jr. was again given an opponent “for a minute.” Why doesn’t Kostya intervene?
Tim has a chance to compete for the second belt, and there he is not far from another attempt to drag Charlo into the ring and claim the title of absolute world champion. There’s also the possibility that Jermell’s fights at first middleweight simply aren’t necessary anymore. There is an opportunity to have more profitable fights and not toil, defending your titles from the attacks of young and ambitious boxers.
