The winner of Tim Tszyu vs. Tony Harrison will become the mandatory challenger to undisputed super welterweight king Jermell Charlo. Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs) elected to face the veteran Harrison, a highly skilled, crafty fighter after Tszyu’s scheduled match with Charlo on January 28 was scratched when Charlo broke his hand in training.
Harrison (29-3-1, 21 KOs) outboxed and edged Charlo in 2018 to capture a world title before he dropped their rematch a year later. In his last fight, Tszyu rose from a first-round knockdown to dominate former title challenger Terrell Gausha last March in his U.S. and SHOWTIME debut. Now Tszyu, 28, will face another prideful veteran in Detroit’s Harrison, who hopes to spoil Tszyu’s homeland return.
The undisputed king of the 154-pound division, Charlo will join the SHOWTIME announce team live from the CBS Studios in New York City as a special guest to lend his expertise on a fight he will no doubt have a rooting interest in. With a potential rubber match with Harrison or a meeting with the undefeated upstart Tszyu possibly looming, Charlo will bring his trademark passion and microphone skills on Saturday night as the SHOWTIME announce team calls the fight remotely from The Big Apple.