Devastating blow to Tim Tszyu when long-awaited showdown with dominant World Champion Jermell Charlo goes awry – and the Aussie had to find out via social media!
- The battle was scheduled for September 30
- Charlo has chosen to move up a weight class
- Will now face Canelo Alvarez
Australian boxing prodigy Tim Tszyu has suffered a serious setback as his long-awaited duel with formidable world champion Jermell Charlo has been officially canceled.
Known for his impeccable record of 35 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw, Charlo has made an unexpected decision to jump weight classes and choose to face another undisputed champion in the ring, the legendary Canelo Alvarez.
Alvarez, with an impressive track record of 59 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws, along with a whopping 39 knockout wins, emerged as Charlo’s new opponent in this eleventh-hour substitution.
Initially, Alvarez was slated to take on Charlo’s twin brother, Jermall, in what was about to be an epic showdown between two undefeated champions.
However, fate had other plans, leading to this last-minute trade that will pit Alvarez, the Undisputed Middleweight Champion, against Charlo, the reigning Undisputed Junior Middleweight Champion.
Tim Tszyu’s future is now uncertain after World Champion Jermell Charlo moved up a weight class to fight Canelo Alvarez instead
Jermell Charlo would have been the biggest fight of Tim Tszyu’s life, but he has blindsided the Aussie by announcing he will fight Alvarez instead
Charlo will move up two divisions to fight Alvarez for the undisputed super-middleweight title in Las Vegas on September 30.
That date is exactly the deadline the WBO had set for Tszyu and Charlo to earn all four super welterweight belts.
Tszyu and Charlo were initially scheduled to fight on January 29, before Charlo reported two broken bones in his left hand last Christmas.
With Charlo rising to challenge the so-called face of boxing, the WBO is expected to elevate the undefeated Tszyu from interim to full world champion.
But Saturday’s shocking revelation is still a huge hammer blow for the Australian.
Tszyu had retained the interim title with a spectacular first-round knockout of Mexican Carlos Ocampo two weeks ago on the Gold Coast.
Asked by AAP after that win if he expected Charlo to come forward and step into the ring with him, Tszyu rejected suggestions that the American evaded him.
“He didn’t dodge me. He’s injured,’ Tszyu said.
Wounded or not, Tszyu (23-0, 17KO) is now one of the most shunned boxers in the world.
Team Tszyu would have been blinded by Charlo-Alvarez’s plans and only found out via social media on Saturday morning.
The blockbuster Alvarez-Charlo is considered the first-ever showdown between two undisputed division champions.
MORE TO COME