Unbeaten Tim Tszyu and former world champion Tony Harrison both made weight ahead of tonight’s showdown in Tszyu’s native Australia for the WBO Interim 154 pound world title.
Tszyu vs. Harrison will headline a Premier Boxing Champions event on SHOWTIME (10:45 p.m. ET/7:45 p.m. PT) from Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. Check out the weights and details below.
WBO 154-Pound Title (Interim) – 12 Rounds
Tim Tszyu – 153 ½ lbs.
Tony Harrison – 153 ½ lbs.
Referee: Danrex Tapdasan; Judges: Zoltan Enyedi (Hungary), Katsuhiko Nakamura (Japan), Benoit Roussel (Canada)
FLASH QUOTES:
Tim Tsyzu: “I’m locked in now, and everything’s out of the way. I’m not nervous. Feel my heartbeat.”
Tony Harrison: “The weight cut has always been my problem, but not this time. I’ll put on some weight, but I’m not looking to go in there 180 pounds. Whatever my body allows. I looked into his eyes and to me, he’s nervous. I keep hearing people counting me out, and I don’t understand why. I’m from the Motor, man. I’m from Detroit. You ever seen a rottweiler fight a chihuahua? It’s just a different type of dog. I just think you guys have seen your dog only bite other chihuahuas. He hasn’t been in front of a rottweiler yet.”
WHAT’S AT STAKE: The winner of Tszyu-Harrison will become the mandatory challenger to undisputed super welterweight king Jermell Charlo. Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs) elected to face the veteran Harrison, a highly skilled, crafty fighter after Tszyu’s scheduled match with Charlo on January 28 was scratched when Charlo broke his hand in training. Harrison (29-3-1, 21 KOs) outboxed and edged Charlo in 2018 to capture a world title before he dropped their rematch a year later. In his last fight, Tszyu rose from a first-round knockdown to dominate former title challenger Terrell Gausha last March in his U.S. and SHOWTIME debut. Now Tszyu, 28, will face another prideful veteran in Detroit’s Harrison, who hopes to spoil Tszyu’s homeland return.
The undisputed king of the 154-pound division, Charlo will join the SHOWTIME announce team live from the CBS Studios in New York City as a special guest to lend his expertise on a fight he will no doubt have a rooting interest in. With a potential rubber match with Harrison or a meeting with the undefeated upstart Tszyu possibly looming, Charlo will bring his trademark passion and microphone skills on Saturday night as the SHOWTIME announce team calls the fight remotely from The Big Apple.
