Boxing promoter insists world champion fight between Tim Tszyu and Jermell Charlo is still planned

Boxing promoter George Rose has opened up on the heartbreak of Tim Tszyu’s fight with undisputed champion Jermell Charlo falling through, but insists the bout is still on the cards when the Aussie is done with Tony Harrison.

Tszyu was scheduled to fight Charlo in January for the American’s IBF, WBC, WBA and WBO super-welterweight belts, in a bout in which he promised a knockout.

However, the blockbuster world-title fight was called off when Charlo broke two bones in his hand while sparring in December.

Tszyu was then matched up with American Tony Harrison, who he will fight in Sydney next month, with the WBO super-welterweight interim belt on the line.

Rose is looking forward to the event at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday, March 12 – but also expressed extreme disappointment that the Charlo fight was cancelled.

‘We love doing events in Australia, I’ll be honest we were really bloody excited about going to Vegas, everyone was,’ Rose said on SEN’s Them’s Fightin Words.

‘If you’ve seen Tim’s progression over the last couple of years, he was due to go overseas during that whole Covid period, he was ready to go and take on them international fights.

‘But because of the restricted travel during Covid, it didn’t end up eventuating, as soon as we got out of that then the opportunity (came) to fight for the undisputed world title, we were so pumped up.

‘Then Charlo gets injured, luckily enough in a short period we’ve been able to turn it around and get the fight here, bring an international in Tony Harrison here on such short turnaround.’

Rose thought Tszyu could surprise one of the most highly-regarded fighters in the world and walk away with the undisputed title.

‘We were sneaking in the back door, we were sneaking up on Charlo, obviously he knows who Tim is, but a lot of the American fighters don’t respect Australian fighters and they don’t respect what they’ve done to get where they’re at,’ Rose added.

‘It was going to be perfect, sneak in the back door, bust up Charlo, become the undisputed world champion, then everyone’s on notice and everyone notices the star that Tim is.

‘A win over Tony Harrison will still give him massive credibility in the States but again it probably takes a little bit of that sneaky factor that we had in favour.

‘It’s still on the cards after a win over Tony Harrison to head over there and fight Charlo in Vegas.’

Harrison, who touches down in Sydney on Tuesday, says he will taking the fight with the Aussie very seriously, but claims Tszyu’s style is nothing he hasn’t seen before.

‘To be honest Tim is a very tough fighter but he’s just so basic to me,’ he said. 

‘He’s somebody I see around the block.’

‘He’s like somebody at the park when I’m fighting somebody at the park. It’s nothing special about him. His defence is not stellar, his offence ain’t stellar.’