Australia’s Tim Tszyu and American superstar Jermell Charlo will share a card on the Gold Coast in December, and Tszyu is already enjoying the fact his old rival will fight before him.
Tszyu took a swipe at “little Charlo” at Monday’s No Limit press conference, where the promoter confirmed Kirra Ruston, Demsey McKean and Callum Peters would all feature on its December 13 card at Cbus Super Stadium.
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Tickets go on sale today, with prices starting at $19.
Tszyu will challenge Erislandy Lara for the WBA middleweight title in the main event, with former undisputed super welterweight champion Charlo set to face Brock Jarvis in his first fight in three years.
Asked about his rivalry with Charlo, Tszyu said “of course there is a bit of animosity between us” before getting in another dig about the billing.
“It’s good to be fighting here on the Gold Coast and have Little Charlo as my co-main event,” Tszyu grinned.
Tszyu backed Charlo to show up and warned the American he could be in for a long night if Jarvis got his way.
“Yeah, he’ll turn up. You know, he’s had a lot to say, so he should be a man of his word,” Tszyu said.
“Look, he’s the former undisputed world champion, but Brock’s a handful.
“So he should be aware that when Brock gets comfortable and puts on a certain pace, they start to crumble.
“If Brock comes with the right game plan. I feel like he can get the job done.”
Liam Wilson will also get another shot at a world title when he takes on Elnur Samedov for the WBA super featherweight belt.
For Tszyu, sharing a stadium card with Wilson and Jarvis was a chance to reflect on how much had changed in 18 months.
Tim vows to dethrone Lara for crown | 03:04
“18 months ago, I was told you should retire,” he said.
“(People were saying) You should do this. You should do that. Well, well, look at us now.
“We’re flying high for Australia. I think Australia’s taken over the world, and we’re against the whole world.”
Journalist Peter Badel went a step further, suggesting the night could outdo one of the biggest sporting events the venue has hosted.
“CBus stadium hosted a State of Origin and I believe it could be bigger than the Origin,” Badel said.
Tszyu also revealed how the prospect of facing Lara had shaped his search for a trainer 18 months ago.
He considered working with Ismael Salas, then decided against it because Salas trained the man he had in mind for a future middleweight title shot.
“But I made sure that I didn’t go there,” said Tszyu.
“I made sure of that because in my head I was like, you know what, I’m going to move up to middleweight, and the middleweight champ is Lara, so I don’t want to be going to a coach who trains him.”
Tszyu who is now training under Billy Hussein and had kept in touch with Jeff Fenech while the Australian boxing great recovered in hospital.
Even from his hospital bed, The Marrickville Mauler was still coaching him.
’18 months ago I was told to retire’ | 01:01
“While Jeff was in hospital we were on FaceTime, he wasn’t feeling too well, but he was still jumping out of his hospital bed, telling me about throwing the left hook, throwing the left body,” Tszyu said.
For Tszyu, the scale of the Gold Coast show brought back memories of watching his father Kostya fight American superstar Zab Judah.
“I remember when my dad fought Zab Judah, Australia stopped,” said Tszyu.
“Everyone was in their house watching it.
“This is the same category.
“We’re talking about historic moments.”
No Limit promoter George Rose said tickets were already on sale, with the cheapest seats starting at $19.
“Really excited for this, I know there has been a big buzz, tickets are on sale right now.
“Im glad everyone gets to be a part of it.
“The cheapest tickets for this are $19 – I think Happy Meals are cheaper than that.”