Tim Tszyu calls Tony Harrison ‘fragile’ after he whinged about flying to Australia for boxing bout

Australian boxer Tim Tszyu has criticized American Tony Harrison as “fragile” and says he could “rip him in half”, after the pair had their first face-to-face meeting before their world title fight.

Harrison touched down in Sydney before he and Tszyu met for the first time on the red carpet at the Creed III premiere.

The pair will meet in the Qudos Bank Arena ring on March 12 for the WBO interim junior middleweight belt.

They shared a warm hug before striking a stony pose for the cameras, with Tszyu warning the 32-year-old Harrison (29-3-1, 21KO) that the time for niceness was over.

“It looks fragile,” Tszyu said. “I’ve been sparring with big, strong, unbreakable guys and it looks like I could snap him in half.”

Tim Tszyu (left) has criticized American Tony Harrison (right) as ‘fragile’ and says he could ‘rip him in half’, after the pair had their first face-to-face meeting ahead of their world title fight.

Harrison touched down in Sydney before he and Tszyu met for the first time on the red carpet at the Creed III premiere.

‘If he goes past four (rounds) he will be in trouble.

‘My goal is to grab him by the neck and throw him into the ocean and let him sink.

“That will start from the first round and we will see when he wants to take air, because he will not have air.”

Harrison appears to be in good shape for the fight, despite complaining about a grueling journey to get Down Under.

‘It was tough, man. It was a hard flight. We had to stop, take a camel, take a go-kart, get on a bike,” Harrison, who lives in Detriot, said as he got off the plane.

The winner of their fight is likely to face undisputed world champion Jermell Charlo, who was forced to pull out of a January bout with Tszyu due to a hand injury.

The fight with Harrison poses a risk to Tszyu’s hopes of taking on Charlo and unifying the division, but the 28-year-old said next month’s meeting was arguably a bigger test.

“He (Harrison) is from the Kronk Gym, he has a good jab and movement,” Tszyu said.

“He’s skilled and hard to hit, he’s a different type of opponent than I’ve ever faced. I’m not underestimating him, this is going to be a tough fight.

The winner of their fight is likely to face undisputed world champion Jermell Charlo, who was forced to pull out of a January bout with Tszyu due to a hand injury.

Harrison vowed to be in top form for Tszyu come fight time at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena and believes the Australian has bitten off more than he can chew.

He has better skills than Charlo, he beat Charlo (in 2019 via unanimous decision).

‘Styles make the fights, but just because you have better skills doesn’t mean you’re going to win every time.

‘The greater the risk, the greater the reward, aim for the stars.’

Despite his exhaustion, Harrison vowed to be in top form for Tszyu come fight time at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena and believes the Australian has bitten off more than he can chew.

‘I feel incredible. Tim caught me at the right time – the wrong time for him, the right time for me,” she said yesterday.

‘For Tim, he knows I’m one step too far.’