Combating within the shadow of each his Corridor of Fame father and his division’s undisputed champion, unbeaten junior middleweight Tim Tszyu used Saturday’s return towards Tony Harrison to ship a message.
Tszyu (22-0, 16 KOs) relied on poise and deliberate strain to slowly break down Harrison (29-4-1, 21 KOs) earlier than punctuating the most important win of his profession with a brutal stoppage late. The Ninth-round TKO, held inside Qudos Financial institution Area in Sydney, Australia, noticed Tszyu seize the WBO interim title and safe a shot at junior middleweight king Jermell Charlo’s 4 world titles.
After the combat, Tszyu put a powerful exclamation level on his assertion by regaling his dwelling crowd with an impassioned speech.
“I’ve obtained one sentence: what’s my motherf—ing identify?” Tszyu stated. “That is what the f— that is all about, each single one in every of you. What’s my motherf—ing identify? Say my motherf—ing identify!”
The 28-year-old Tszyu was initially scheduled to face Charlo in January till a left hand damage compelled the champion to withdraw. Tszyu selected to remain busy as an alternative towards the 32-year-old Harrison, a former WBC champion, who stays the one fighter to have defeated Charlo.
With Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) watching from a New York studio as a particular visitor on the Showtime Boxing Worldwide telecast, Tszyu returned a way more environment friendly and composed fighter than final March, when he was dropped within the opening spherical towards Terrell Gausha in his U.S. debut earlier than battling again to say a hard-fought determination.
Tszyu staggered Harrison midway throughout the ring in Spherical 3 with a looping counter proper hand that compelled Harrison right into a defensive posture for the rest of the combat. Tszyu was not solely in a position to pin Harrison towards the ropes with ease, he held his distance patiently sufficient to forestall his opponent from exiting.
In Spherical 9, Harrison’s partitions lastly started to crumble as a trio of exhausting proper fingers staggered him into the ropes. Tszyu swarmed in and landed 4 of the 5 proper uppercuts he threw in succession earlier than a vicious proper cross dropped Harrison.
Referee Danrex Tapdasan, who allowed Harrison to soak up far an excessive amount of punishment earlier than the knockdown, waved off the combat at 2:49 after Harrison rose to his toes to beat the depend however remained unsteady.
“He was spectacular. He did what he needed to do at dwelling,” Charlo stated. “He was a bit flat to me however my motion, my model and my energy will make him do utterly various things. After I get my [left] hand proper and get again into the ring for coaching, put that tape in. That may work.
“That is precisely what we had seen. He comes ahead however shouldn’t be as quick. He is robust, after all, however aren’t all of us? I am a unique animal in there than Tony.”
Tszyu appeared to have dominated the vast majority of the combat but solely led 77-75 on all three scorecards on the time of the stoppage. He outlanded Harrison by a margin of 131 to 78, based on CompuBox, and related on a powerful 45% of his energy pictures. Tszyu additionally held a 29 to 7 benefit in physique pictures landed, which additional slowed down Harrison’s motion.
“I used to be good. I knew he had a jab so I needed to be good about it,” Tszyu stated. “The competitor I had in entrance of me, he was the person who beat the person. However I simply beat that man so what does that make me?”
Though Harrison had success together with his jab, he appeared weary to let his proper hand go given the punching distance Tszyu operated from. Of the 4 losses in Harrion’s professional profession, all 4 have come by stoppage.
“I educated extraordinarily exhausting for the combat however the higher man received tonight,” Harrison stated. “He’ll go on to larger and higher issues. I do not know the place I’m going from right here.”
Requested after the combat whether or not Charlo could be subsequent, Tszyu agreed.
“The message [to Charlo] was despatched clearly,” Tszyu stated. “You recognize what’s up, you recognize what’s subsequent. I am coming to America.”