Tim Tszyu’s Las Vegas fight off in blow to NRL’s historic season launch

The NRL’s historic season launch in Las Vegas has worn its first blow, after Australian boxing phenom Tim Tszyu was wiped out of the event in March.

Tim Tszyu. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Tim Tszyu’s fight in Las Vegas is off due to issues around fighter availability and broadcast scheduling issues.

Tszyu and No Limit had been hoping to fight longtime rival Jermell Charlo on the same weekend as the NRL’s season launch in Sin City.

However, Charlo was arrested on assault charges in December and faces court in March, making a fight against Tszyu for early 2024 untenable.

This masthead can exclusively reveal Tszyu and his team still plan on heading to Las Vegas for a training camp and will likely be at Allegiant Stadium when the NRL season kicks off on March 2.

Although March in Las Vegas is now off the table, Tszyu’s team is still hopeful of fighting in America next, but haven’t ruled out a return to Australia later in the year.

Former world title challenger Erickson Lubin is the frontrunner to face Tszyu next, with a bout opposite Vergil Ortiz possible later in 2024.

Ortiz called Tszyu out after his first round knockout of Fredrick Lawson on the weekend, with the undefeated American’s promoter Oscar de la Hoya saying he’d be willing to travel to Australia for the fight.

I knew you would be man! Let’s do it 🤝🏼 https://t.co/Lp9Rpi3fKG

— Vergil Ortiz Jr. (@VergilOrtiz) January 7, 2024

It’s not the first time Charlo has scuppered plans of a Tszyu showdown.

The pair were initially supposed to fight early last year before the American broke his hand just weeks before the fight.

They were expected to meet again later in 2023 before Charlo shocked the boxing world by moving up two weight classes to fight Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

After Charlo lost a one-sided decision to Canelo, there were hopes he would return to face Tszyu in a long-awaited March blockbuster.

In December though, Charlo was charged with misdemeanour assault causing bodily injury.

He was released on bail, but his boxing future remains unclear.

Originally published as Tim Tszyu’s Las Vegas fight off in blow to NRL’s historic season launch