Tony Harrison thanked #1 Tim Tszyu today at their kickoff press conference for choosing him as his next opponent for their March 12th battle for the WBO interim junior middleweight title on Showtime at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Australia.
As the former WBC 154-lb champion #4 Harrison (29-3-1, 21 KOs) pointed out, Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs) could have picked anyone and taken an easier fight.
Still, he selected him as his opponent to prepare him for a world title shot against the currently injured undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo.
If Tszyu loses to Harrison, he’ll have lost out on his guaranteed title shot against Charlo, and who knows how long it’ll take for him to work his way back to another chance to fight for a world title.
It’s taken Tszyu seven years to be on the doorstep for a world title shot, and he should have already fought for the four belts last month on January 28th, but Charlo could talent the fight due to a left-hand injury he suffered in camp.
Tszyu, 28, kept it calm during today’s press conference, choosing not to get involved in back-and-forth arguing with Harrison, who is on another level regarding his quick wit and ability to talk circles around his opponents.
Who can forget how Harrison repeatedly made Jermell Charlo look silly when he tried trading words with him in their press conferences for their two fights? The last thing Tszyu needed was to be put in the same position as Charlo, repeatedly receiving tongue lashings from Harrison.
Tszyu is going to need to raise his game to a level we haven’t seen before for him to defeat Harrison because he can’t afford to look the way he did in his last fight against Terrell Gausha last March.
“He could have taken an easier fight. He was already lined up for an easier fight,” said Tony Harrison during Tuesday’s press conference for his fight against Tim Tszyu on March 12th in Sydney, Australia.
“For him to say yes for a guy like me, he woke me up out of the dead,” Harrison continued. “For you to be on the step to fight for all the marbles and for you to accept a fight for the only man that beat the man that you’re looking to beat.
“The only man I’m chasing is the only man he’s chasing. So we’re chasing the same man [Jermell Charlo]. The only way for me to get there is to fight Tim.
