Brian Mendoza (22-2, 16 KOs) says he’s ready for war this Saturday night in his fight against WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu on October 14th.
Mendoza has been waiting for this opportunity, and he plans on taking advantage of the situation by dethroning Tszyu (23-0, 17 KOs) in his defense of his WBO 154-lb title, which he outside of the ring.
Tszyu vs. Mendoza will take place at the Exhibition Centre in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. The event will be shown live on Showtime Boxing at 10:30 p.m. ET.
The powerful 29-year-old Mendoza has won his last three fights and looks like an entirely different fighter than the one who lost to Jesus Ramos in 2021.
Mendoza has become a complete fighter, and his power enabled him to take his game to the next level.
This will be a real shootout between two of the biggest punchers in the junior middleweight division, and it’s difficult to imagine that it will go the distance.
Mendoza rates his power over Tszyu
“Me. Based on my resume and what I’ve done, I have more one-punch knockouts,” said Brian Mendoza to the Jai McAllister channel when asked who has the better power between him and Tim Tszyu.
Mendoza does appear to have better power than Tszyu in both hands, but that may not help him if he can’t take the return fire. Tszyu is the favorite with the oddsmakers, as has the better chin and has fought the better competition.
“Once he gets you, he’s a good finisher and everything, but just based on the facts that I have more explosive shots,” said Mendoza. “The thing about me. I have power, but I’m not just a power puncher.
“I don’t go in there trying to look for one shot,” Mendoza continued. “I’ll hurt you for 12 rounds. I’ll go old school like Miguel Cotto vs. Mayorga. That was a 12th-round last-second knockout.”
Mendoza is generally looking for knockouts, as each shot that he throws is thrown with 100% power. If you watch Mendoza’s last fight against Sebastian Fundora last April, he was hitting the 6’5 1/2″ fighter with huge uppercuts from the opening.
Eventually, Mendoza wore Fundora down and stopped him in the seventh round with a highlight reel knockout.
“I’m even content with that. I do look for the knockout,” said Mendoza. “I do want to put on a big show. I think that’s why I even got called here to this beautiful country in first place for this title fight, but I’m in there to put punishment on you for 12 rounds.
“You saw my last few fights. It’s been the fifth round, sixth round, and seven, and I carry the power late, and I’m totally fine, you know, however long the fight needs to go for me to get that victory. That’s what I got to do.”
Mendoza has knocked out his last three opponents since last year, and his power seems to have improved. Before Mendoza’s recent win over Fundora, he knocked out former 154-lb champion Jeison Rosario in the fifth round last year and Benjamin Whitaker in the fifth.
“We’ll see,” said Mendoza when asked if he can show some spite during the press conferences with Tszyu to liven things up. “I’m a big person. I’ve always said I want my performances to speak for me. I’m not a trash talker, and I feel like the people who flip the switch a little too early or they force it, it comes off corny.
“I think the reason I’ve been resonating with people is because I’m real. I’m myself. This is who you’re going to see on and off-camera, but on fight night, I’m definitely a killer, and I’m in there to hurt my opponent. There’s no friendliness in there,” said Mendoza.
It’s asking a lot to expect Mendoza to start trash-talking Tszyu because he’s not the type to do that. It’s not like he has any reason to because Tszyu has been talking far more about Jermell Charlo during the promotion of their fight than about him.
Brian ready for Tszyu’s pressure
“He’s earned his spot, and he’s is trying to get away from just being under his dad’s name and anything like that. So he’s working hard, and he is a big puncher, uses lots of pressure,” said Mendoza about Tszyu.
Tim’s fighting style is different from that of his famous dad, Kostya Tszyu. He doesn’t have the explosive power or the inside game that Kostya had, and he’s never had that kind of strength. Kostya was pretty special.
“I think that’s his main thing, lots of pressure and stuff, and he just stays on you,” said Mendoza. “He’s there to really chase. He doesn’t just try to coast or anything like that. He goes to war, and he expects to come out on top. I just believe this is one more that that won’t happen.
“There’s so much that goes into that. From the losses, I have a bigger chip on my shoulder; I have more to prove each time out.
“So I’m always hungry. I always hated to say that, but it is something I needed to go through. It’s something I had to experience it because before you feel that taste of defeat, it’s something impossible. It’s unfathomable.
“You go in there, you really don’t think it’s possible, and then it kind of crushes your reality. So if you can make it through the ups and downs of that roller coaster, there’s a lot to come out through on top of that.
“I just really had to dig it out. I have that chip on my shoulder, and it’s just no pressure. I’ve already tasted that defeat, and I know I don’t ever want that again. So hunger is really what makes a difference here, and I feel like that’s what adds to my hunger more than anyone else,” Mendoza said.
War on Saturday
“I want to take out everybody in my division as well,” said Brian. “It’s part of the game, and that’s why I say once we go in there, that switch flips, and it’s war. We’re trying to we’re aiming for the same goal, and only one can come out on top.”
Mendoza will be ready to tee off on Tsyzu when the bell sounds on Saturday, and the crowd noise will make it more exciting.
“There’s there’s no second place in boxing,” said Mendoza. “You’re second place, you come out, you lose, and you stop getting those calls for fights. You stop getting the opportunities and everything, and, like I said, I know what that feels like, and I never want to go back to that.
“That’s why you see me in that ring. I pour my heart and soul in each and every time, and you’re never going to see me say, ‘I wish I would have done this or that.’ I’m leaving it all out there, and that’s really what you see when I’m in the ring.
“I see that he learned a lot. There are many similarities from the style, and yeah, it’s crazy how the world turns,” said Mendoza when asked if he sees any similarities between Tim Tszyu and his famous dad, Kostya Tszyu’s fighting style.
“When I was a young kid, I wasn’t even too interested in boxing, and my dad was a huge fight fan, and we would always go to fight parties and stuff, watch the fights and stuff, and we used to watch Kostya Tszyu’s world title fights and everything. It was entertaining.
“I told my dad that we used to go to fight parties to watch his dad in the States, and now we flew across the world to fight his son for a world title. It’s just crazy how the world turns, and you know where hard work can get you,” said Mendoza.