WBO #1 Tim Tszyu meets WBO #3 Tony Harrison
Undefeated Aussie Tim Tszyu (21-0, 15KO) will clash with former world champion Tony Harrison (29-3-1, 21KO) for the vacant WBO Interim super-welterweight title at the 21,000 capacity Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
Harrison is willing to fly 9,000 miles from his Michigan State to face the unbeaten Australian in his own backyard, in a bid to reclaim the world title from former foe Jermell Charlo.
Unbeaten Tszyu gets the home advantage in his home city of Sydney, so is currently the favourite to defeat the American at the bookies. You can find sports betting sites here where you can bet without restrictions from gamstop in the UK.
‘Super Bad’ Harrison defeated Jermell Charlo in 2018 with a unanimous decision win and remains the only man to do so. Charlo came back exactly a year later to exact revenge via 11th round KO. Now Tony wants the chance to complete their trilogy, especially now that his former foe is the undisputed champion at the weight.
Tszyu is less experienced than Tony, but this will serve as his 10th title fight in a row. An Australian and Commonwealth champion, the son of Kostya Tszyu has carved out his own career by winning the WBO Global belt, when it was newly formed, and defending it over eight fights.
Those victories have pushed him all the way up to No.1 in the 154lbs rankings, where he is listed sixth by BoxRec (two places above Harrison) and within touching distance of an undisputed showdown with the division’s king, Jermell Charlo.
28-year-old Tszyu is very aggressive and heavy handed, with 15 knockouts from 21 bouts. His last two outings went the full 12, but, prior to that, he was on a five-fight KO streak. He is sometimes a bit slow-starting, suffering two first-round knockdowns in his career, suggesting opponents could catch him off-guard early.
In his last fight with Terrell Gausha, he walked onto a strong straight right hand in the opener that stunned him but was able to get straight back up and back in again. He applied pressure all fight long, standing at mid-range behind his guard, which was often penetrated with counter-punches, but he didn’t stop trying to knock Gausha out, throwing over 200 more power punches and landing over 100 more. He likes to stand at the right range to be able to load up on his shots without overreaching from afar or smothering his work from being too close. He had particular success with the uppercut and commanded the entire fight, apart from the precarious opening.
Tony Harrison became the WBC World super-welterweight champion in 2018, from the away corner, with a composed, calculated performance behind a snappy, accurate jab to dethrone then unbeaten champion Jermell Charlo, who was advancing and rapacious throughout, but was outmanoeuvred by a shrewder fighter.
In the rematch, Charlo dominated and hurt Harrison to win back his belt with an 11th round stoppage, the uppercut and right hands being the punches that did the damage, which are shots that Tszyu has been known to be successful with.
One of these fighters is young, hungry, and on his way up; the other is older, intelligent, experienced, and proven, having already reigned as a world champion. It’s likely to be a game of cat and mouse, but who will emerge top dog?
Betting Odds
Tszyu is the clear favourite to win at 2/5, with Harrison an outsider at 21/10. The odds for a draw are 20-1.
Predictions
Tszyu is a formidable puncher and his constant pressure wears opponents down. I’m not a fan of his lack of head movement; he is too easy to hit and to counter against, relying too much on his power. Against world class fighters, this could be his undoing.
Harrison became a world champion by boxing clever behind a tight defence and countering with sharp jabs and one-twos. Charlo was aggressive and powerful, trying to knock him out all fight long, but Harrison made him miss and landed accurately.
Tszyu will be advancing and Harrison will likely go on the backfoot. Tszyu has the power to hurt anyone, which will be his goal, always looking for the knockout, but Harrison hasn’t knocked anyone out for over five years, so the American’s most likely chance of winning will be on points.
The most likely scenario is that Tszyu will be hunting Harrison down, like he did against Gausha, applying lots of pressure and unloading heavy punches, but Harrison is a great defensive fighter, good mover, quick on his feet, and strikes back so swiftly, precisely and cleverly. Tszyu could press Harrison like he did against Terrell, but there will be much more punishment coming back at him.
I can see Harrison outboxing Tszyu on the backfoot and outpointing him over the rounds, but will he get the decision in such a hostile environment where 21,000 fans will all be cheering for the other man? Some fans think Tszyu will wipe Harrison out cold, but I have a feeling Harrison is going to do well in this fight. He has the skill and the style to trouble Tszyu.
I predict this ends via split decision with Tszyu declared as the controversial winner.