The eagle has landed, or at least, Tony Harrison, has landed in Australia prior to his Sunday, March 12th, fight for the interim WBO 154 lbs title, when he faces Tim Tszyu, legend of famed boxer, Kosta Tszyu.
Tim Tszyu was originally set to fight for all four junior middleweight world titles until Jermell Charlo was forced out of the January fight. Without hesitation, Tszyu looked for the most viable replacement not waiting on Charlo to reschedule their bout.
“He knows that’s not going to happen, if it goes past four he’s going to be in trouble,” Tsyzu said during a sit-down conversation on FoxSports.com.au. “My aim is to grab him by the neck and pull him down into the ocean and just let him sink – drown him.”
Harrison, who arrived to media outlets eager to speak with the Detroit native, who saw 154 lbs contender and U.S. Olympian Charles Conwell follow behind him, made it clear that Harrison is not just coming to Australia to sight-see.
“All I need is the ring,” said Harrison to a scrum of reporters as he landed in Australia, as was documented by FightHub TV. “I feel amazing, as I said, Tim [Tszyu] caught me at the right time, the wrong time, [and the] right time for me.”
The local favorite, Tszyu coming off the biggest win of his career against U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha is now looking to forge his own path, and make his own name in the sport. Though it is inevitable that Tszyu will always be compared to his hall-of-fame father, who was one of the best of the modern era - this fight allows for Tszyu to become a world champion in his own right.
“I’m not underestimating him, this is going to be a tough fight. I know that,” said Tszyu. ““He’s got better skills than Charlo, he beat Charlo and was winning his last fight with Charlo…but styles make fights, just because you’re superior skill, it doesn’t mean you’re going to win all the time, there’s so much in this boxing game…the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward, quite simple. Aim for the stars.”