By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Tim Tszyu of Australia will be taking on former WBC World Jr. Middleweight Champion Tony Harrison of Detroit, Michigan this Saturday, March 11th. The 12-rounder for the interim WBO Jr Middleweight Belt will take place in Tzsyu’s hometown of Sydney Australia and can be seen live in America on Showtime at 10:45 pm ET. Tzsyu last fought a year ago when he was dropped in the first round of his American debut but fought back to earn a hard-fought unanimous decision over Terrell Gausha to retain his WBO Global Super Welterweight Crown. Harrison last boxed in April when de beat Sergio Garcia via a 10-round unanimous decision to take the vacant WBC Silver Super Welterweight Title.
The Tszyu name is well known in boxing as Tim is the son of former world champion Kostya Tszyu and the 28-year-old climbs into the ring with a perfect mark of 21-0 with 15 Ko’s. He stands just under 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 72-inch and possesses better-than-average power with an impressive current knockout ratio of 71.4 per cent.
He’s boxed 107 rounds since making his pro debut in 2016 following a good amateur career and has also captured the interim WBA Oceania, WBO Asia Pacific, WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental, IBF Australasian, Commonwealth, and Australian Super Welterweight Titles since turning pro. Tszyu’s first step up in class came in August, 2020 when he stopped former world champion Jeff Horn in the seventh round.
Tszyu has also faced legitimate world contenders in Gausha and Takeshi Inoue as they both fought for world titles in the past and also has wins over the likes of Dennis Hogan, Wade Ryan, Jack Brubaker, Ruben Webster, Larry Siwu, Denton Vassell, Joel Camilleri and the late Dwight Ritchie. He’s taking a step in the right direction again here as Inoue and Gausha were formidable opponents and of course he was scheduled to meet Jermell Charlo in January but the undisputed junior middleweight champ broke his hand and the fight was called off.
Harrison is now 32 years old and climbs into the ring with a mark of 29-3-1 with 21 Ko’s. He’s got quite a bit of power with a knockout ratio of 63.6 per cent but hasn’t stopped anybody since 2018 when he halted George Sosa in the fifth round. In addition, his chin is questionable since he was stopped in all three of his losses. These came at the hands of Jermell Charlo in the 11th round in December, 2021 as well as Jarrett Hurd in the ninth round in February, 2017 for the vacant IBF Title and to Willie Nelson in the ninth round of their July, 2015 fight.
The loss to Charlo was a rematch of their bout which was held a year earlier which saw Harrison take a 12-round unanimous decision to capture Charlo’s WBC world title. His lone draw was a 12-round affair with Bryant Peralta in 2021. Harrison’s boxed 161 rounds since turning pro in 2011 following a fine amateur career which saw him reach the quarterfinals of the 2010 USA National championships and the semifinals of the 2011 National Golden Gloves.
Harrison’s a good-sized junior middleweight at 6-feet-1-inch tall with a reach of 76.5 inches which gives him a 4.5-inch height and reach advantage on Tzsyu. Harrison’s best wins have been against Charlo, Ishe Smith, Paul Valenzuela Jr, Siarhei Rabchanka, Fernando Guerrero, Antwone Smith, Bronco McKart, Grady Brewer and Calvin Odom. He struggled a bit when moving up in class before beating Charlo and is a good boxer with power.
Prediction…
Tszyu isn’t exactly at the same level as his famous his father but still possesses plenty of power and speed in his fists. However, Harrison is the owner of the better boxing skills and has plenty of experience and a significant size advantage. This definitely won’t be an easy fight for Tszyu and he’s not likely planning on outboxing Harrison anyway. He needs to work his way inside and batter his opponent to the head and body, eventually wearing him down. I’m expecting Tzsyu to earn a victory in a very hard-fought battle at home.
