Tim Tszyu is now the WBO junior middleweight world champion. Ahead of him is his first world title defense against WBC interim junior middleweight world champion, Brian Mendoza, in a fight that will air in primetime on Showtime Championship Boxing live from Australia.
Tszyu finds himself in a weight class in ruin. Once considered a division of top-tier talent at the championship level, the dust has settled and a lot of the promising contenders are no longer around. It appears Tszyu also understands this recognizing the limited options available.
Though Tim Tszyu is still seeking a fight with Jermell Charlo, a man he was scheduled to fight earlier this year before Charlo pulled out with an injury, and then went on to face Canelo on PPV at two weight classes above his natural weight. Tszyu also sees other options such as Terence Crawford and Jaron Ennis, two talented welterweights who also seem to be able to move up in weight given their power and frame.
“I couldn’t care less,” said Tszyu when speaking to Fox Sports about whether people believe in his talent, yet and if it matters to him as he continues to call for the biggest names in the sport. “I’m sorry for the short answers. I couldn’t care less. Doing what I do is making statements."
Tszyu has been hanging around building himself up in the silence that is Australia, after beating the domestic fighters he has gone global, but it also seems that Tszyu wants more. Tszyu seems to want to be a multi-division world champion as well as one of the biggest stars in the sport. It appears that the middleweight division that is void of star power is about to be put on notice as Tszyu has his eyes set on it.
“I’m enjoying every moment," said Tszyu about this fight. I’m excited about this opportunity to fight Mendoza and be able to take someone out like that; it’s going to be a big honor because we’re the two top dogs in a division."
