Brian Mendoza thinks he’s got the power in his shots to hurt Tim Tszyu to dethrone him as the WBO junior middleweight champion on Saturday night in Queensland, Australia.
Mendoza (22-2, 16 KOs) has seen how Tszyu (23-0, 17 KOs) has been dropped by a non-puncher, Terrell Gausha, and hurt by other fighters during his career, who weren’t powerful guys. If Tszyu isn’t ready for a war on Saturday night, he could be in trouble.
Mendoza warns Tszyu not to go looking for a knockout in the first 70 seconds of their fight on Saturday night like he did in his last bout against Carlos Ocampo because he might run into something.
The 28-year-old Tszyu hasn’t looked particularly excited about this fight during the build-up. There’s a lack of interest in this bout compared to his previous ones against Ocampo and Tony Harrison.
It’s unclear whether Tszyu feels Mendoza isn’t a threat or if he’s mentally & physically tired. Whatever it is, Tszyu doesn’t seem motivated. The hunger isn’t there for some reason. He as Tszyu too much money already, or perhaps he needs someone to put the scare in him like Terence Crawford or Jermell Charlo.
With Tszyu doing very little to create interest in the fight, Mendoza’s enthusiasm has carried the promotion. He’s the one who has gotten fans interested in this fight, while Tszyu has looked detached the entire time.
Tszyu vs. Mendoza will be fighting this Saturday, October 14th, on Showtime Boxing. The card begins at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT.
Mendoza ready to test Tszyu’s chin
“Amazing, man. This is super motivating. I know this is a promotion for the public, but I got hyped myself. I love seeing my name on the big lights and everything on those big banners. It just means the world to me,” said Brian Mendoza to Fighthype, talking about the promotion for his fight against WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu this Saturday.
You can tell that Mendoza is excited about how big the promotion is for this fight compared to his low-level contests in the past. Tszyu is easily the most popular fighter that Mendoza has been up against, so he’s really pleased at the attention he’s receiving.
“It’s almost fight night; my dream has almost come true because I keep saying the dream is not to fight for the title; it’s to win the title,” said Mendoza. “So I’m not here just to take part. We’re here to take over, like McGregor said.
“You always work hard, and it’s just kind of working hard blindly because you don’t know when you’re going to get these opportunities, and that’s why these last few fights you see me, it’s all or nothing, and that’s why you see me really just lay it all down there.
“I’m a go-out on my shield type of guy. It’s killer be killed, and that’s that’s the mindset I go in there with. Seeing this is a dream come true.
“That’s what we’re going to have to find out,” said Mendoza when asked how well Tszyu will be able to stand up to his heavy hands on Saturday night. “There’s a lot of questions to be answered. He’s been put down by other guys or hurt anyway, and we’re going to find out.”
Well, if Mendoza can knockout Tszyu, that would be a huge upset, and it would turn Brian into a star in the U.S. No one is expecting much from Mendoza, so if he pulls off the upset of Tszyu, it would create a lot of interest in a potential fight between him and Jermell Charlo once he returns to the 154-lb division.
“I know I have some bombs, but I’m not in there looking for one shot. If it takes all 12, an all-out war and everything, but the point is, it’s going to be explosive, and I’m coming out with my hand raised,” said Mendoza.
“There’s levels to this. No disrespect or anything, but I’m at a different level, and I think Tim knows that as well. I can see that he’s very focused for this fight and everything, but there’s no there’s no 70 seconds, and if he does, he might run into something he doesn’t like,” said Mendoza.
