Tim Tszyu says he wants to fight Terence Crawford & Errol Spence Jr at 154 after they meet for their rematch later this year. Tszyu says he wants to fight Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) in 2024 in mid-year, and he sees it as a cracking fight.
It’s going to be interesting to see if Crawford & Spence can hold up under the massive power of Tszyu without getting taken out like his last two opponents, Carlos Ocampo and Tony Harrison.
For Spence & Crawford, Tszyu will be the top guy in the 154-lb division if Jermell Charlo doesn’t return to the weight class, which he probably won’t if he defeats Canelo Alvarez next month.
Tszyu (23-0, 17 KOs) will be elevated to full WBO junior middleweight champion as soon as current champion Jermell Charlo enters the ring for his fight on September 30th against undisputed 168-lb champion Canelo Alvarez.
The WBO will be stripping Jermell of his 154-lb belt with their organization for failing to defend against his mandatory Tszyu. Jermell had an entire year to defend against Tszyu but was out with an injury. Once healed, he chose to go up to 168 to pick up a bag against Canelo.
Tszyu says he was impressed with the performance Crawford put on last weekend with his dominating ninth round knockout win over Spence.
“It was a master class. It was like a magician at a magic show. I thought Spence was off. It didn’t look the same Spence as always, but I think after the car crash, it sort of went downhill for him,” said Tim Tszyu to Jai McAllister when asked about his thoughts on Terence Crawford’s victory over Errol Spence Jr. last weekend.
Spence looked like his all-time worse, and a lot of that had to do with how drained he appeared from making weight.
“Crawford got him at a great time and but that’s not taking Crawford’s win away from him. He looked exceptional in there. Yeah, I think everyone was in shock,” said Tszyu when asked if he was surprised at how easy Crawford made it look.
“He’s got that pound-for-pound crown now for a reason. Number one pound-for-pound just because of the way he fought. Chess, IQ level. He knows when to put the gas. Just his patience and his balance.
“I really enjoyed watching his balance and just simple adjustments like a power Jab. That was it. That’s what caused everything,” said Tszyu about the effectiveness of Crawford’s jab.
“His balance was off. He couldn’t do nothing. Everything he was coming in was getting countered. It was a shutout, man.
“Yeah, for sure,” said Tszyu when asked if he would like to fight Crawford or Spence. “Anyone can get it. I’m the man now at 154. [Jermell] Charlos gone up. We get to fight for the belts and show who the true boogeyman of the division really is.
“No, if he fights me and loses, it’s finished,” said Tszyu when asked if he thinks Spence will move up to 154 and fight him. For example, if Chalo fights me and he loses, he’s finished. That’s why he took the Canelo fight. It’s quite simple. High risk, low reward you.
“So I think Spence will fight Crawford again. I think they will move up to 154, and then hopefully, we can have a cracking fight sometime mid-next year.
“Yeah, for sure. I’ve always wanted Mel on my resume,” said Tszyu when told that Jermell said that he would return to the 154-lb division. That’s the name that I need on my resume. That just shows how he’s not confident or beating Canelo.
“If you’re a 168 undisputed champion, you’re not going to go back to 154. That’s facts. So the fact that he’s saying, ‘I’m not done with 154, he knows that he’s going to get his a** whooped. So he’s going to come back down. Simple. I don’t have that mentality. I don’t think about losing, ever.
“Yeah, hopefully. Hopefully, mid to early November, mid-October to early November sometime,” said Tszyu, when he’ll fight next.
