Tim Tszyu chasing Jermell Charlo after Castano injury threatens to derail his American dream
Jermell Charlo has raised doubt about the injury claims by rival Brian Castano, and he has a willing replacement in Tim Tszyu.
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Tim Tszyu wants to step in and save the show.
The Australian has declared he is ready to fight Jermell Charlo in Los Angeles on March 19, and the winner of their title bout can then take on injured WBO champion Brian Castano next.
Tszyu’s offer comes after Castano reportedly injured his bicep during sparring, forcing his March 19 rematch against WBC, IBF and WBA titleholder Charlo for the unified super-welterweight championship to be put on pause. Castano is pushing for the rematch to be postponed until May or June, but Tszyu is ready and willing to take his place next month.
“I don’t care who is in front of me in the ring, if Charlo is available I want it, I have been in training camp for seven weeks and I’m ready,” Tszyu said.
“If Castano is injured, I can step up and fight Charlo and Castano can fight the winner.”
Tszyu’s comments came after Charlo cast doubt on Castano’s injury, posting on Instagram: “2X (two times) in a row they done tried to pull the same stunt. Naw I aint buying it”.
Tszyu was to have made his American debut as co-feature of the 69.85kg unification rematch between Charlo and Castano, booked for Crypto Arena (formerly The Staples Centre) in LA, against Terrell Gausha.
He would then have been in line to fight the winner of Charlo-Castano 2. Castano (17-0-2, 12KO) and Charlo (34-1-1, 18KO) had a controversial split draw in July last year, and both campaigned for the rematch.
Tszyu had been mandated to fight Castano for his WBO belt early last year after becoming the sanctioning body’s No. 1 contender, but instead of waiting around he took the risk of losing his mandatory position to fight world-rated Takeshi Inoue, winning a comfortable 12-round decision.
However, Tszyu (20-0, 15KO) is not interested in waiting another six months for his chance to become world champion – the WBO had already decided against enforcing the mandatory fight to allow Castano his chance at a rematch.
Tszyu’s promoters No Limit Boxing fired off a letter to the WBO, Team Castano, and Charlo’s promoter Tom Brown of TGB Promotions asking to “show cause” why the WBO should not enforce Castano’s mandatory challenge against Tszyu immediately.
The letter, signed by No Limit chief executive George Rose, has been responded to by Castano’s camp but it’s unclear what that response said.
In the meantime, Tszyu is willing to take on Charlo at short notice, with tickets for the unification fight having gone on sale a fortnight ago.
Tszyu’s manager, Glen Jennings, said: “There is no reason that this event doesn’t still happen. The venue was booked, people are ready to see Charlo defend his titles, and Tim will happily step in on four weeks’ notice to make it happen.
“If Brian Castano is ruled out we’re ready to go.
“If we can fight Charlo next, we’ll take it in a heartbeat. If the next opportunity is Castano as the mandated WBO title fight, we’re ready for that too.”
TSZYU’S US DREAM IN TATTERS AFTER INJURY FARCE
Tim Tszyu’s dream American debut looks to be in tatters after Brian Castano suffered an injury that will either delay or cancel his unification rematch against Jermell Charlo on March 19.
Tszyu was supposed to be the co-feature of Charlo-Castano 2 in Los Angeles, fighting American Terrell Gausha, but that is now up in the air.
Reports from the United States suggest Castano suffered a minor bicep injury, but is hopeful of recovering to have the rematch in May or June.
But WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel cast doubt on the rematch by tweeting: “Look like no unification will take place…Who can you blame? Probably Castano”.
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Castan'o vs Charlo..Look like no unification will take place..Who you can blame ? Probably Castan'o.. @TGBpromotions@TwinCharlo@JakeNDaBox@pugboxing@DanRafael1@LoMejorDelBoxeo@NotiFight@ShowtimeBoxing
— Paco Valcárcel, Esq. (@PacoValcarcel) February 17, 2022
Castano is the WBO super-welterweight champion, and was given permission by Varcarcel to delay his mandatory title defence against Tszyu to have the rematch against Charlo after their controversial draw last year, with most observers believing Castano won.
Tszyu’s opportunity to feature on the Charlo-Castano 2 card had him poised to break into the US market, grow his American following, and if victorious against Gausha fight the winner of the unification bout.
“From what my team has told me there’s not a lot of information right now so I’m in limbo,” Tszyu told News Corp from his training base on the Gold Coast.
“Until we get further advice and understanding of what’s going on, I’m stuck and can’t do much.”
Tszyu’s promoter, No Limit Boxing, spent weeks negotiation with US-based giants Premier Boxing Champions to get undefeated Tszyu (20-0, 15KO) on the Castano-Charlo 2 card.
No Limit chief executive George Rose was due to hold a press conference on Friday formally announcing Tszyu’s American debut.
“We had a big announcement planned for Tim’s first fight in the United States, and that has been thrown into chaos with the unification fight in doubt,” Rose said.
“We know nothing more, some reports are saying the fight is delayed, others are saying it’s off.
“We can’t make any plans until we talk to the relevant parties and get solid information.”
Tszyu had been mandated to fight Castano for his WBO belt last year after becoming the sanctioning body’s No. 1 contender.
However, Castano’s draw against WBC, WBA and IBF champion Charlo in their unification fight in February last year saw both campaigning for the rematch, leaving Tszyu stuck.
The WBO allowed Castano to step past Tszyu, while the IBF allowed Charlo to avoid his mandatory challenger, Bakhram Murtazaliev, so the unification rematch could be made.
If either the WBO or IBF now turn around and demand their champions face their mandatories, the unification fight would be cancelled.
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