Al-anwar Newspaper English news in Australia
Tim Tszyu wants to trump the NRL and Wallabies to headline the first sporting event at the newly built Sydney Football Stadium – and talks are underway.
Tszyu is set to fight undisputed super-welterweight champion Jermell Charlo for all four major belts in the division, and his team has eyes on hosting the fight at the newly refurbished $882 million SFS the weekend before the Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs are set to play the first football match on the ground.
No Limit Boxing, Tszyu’s promoters, have started discussions with stadium operators and even hope to stage the pre-fight weigh-in at the stadium, the day before the fight would occur on Sunday, August 28.
As it stands, the Roosters vs Rabbitohs clash is set down as the first sporting event to be hosted at the new SFS on Friday, September 2, followed by the Wallabies vs South Africa the following night.
But Tszyu could steal the exclusive with the biggest boxing event ever held in Australia as he aims to emulate legendary father Kostya and topple a pound-for-pound star in Charlo. “First of all Sydney is my hometown, if the fight gets presented at a stadium like that it would be unreal for myself,” Tszyu told News Corp Australia.
“The first sporting event at the new SFS would be insane.”
While several hurdles stand in the way of making the bout at the ground, No Limit chief executive George Rose said: “It would be fitting for a fight of this magnitude to be the first sporting event held at the world-class new stadium in Sydney.
“Tim Tszyu is the biggest name in Australian boxing, and Jermell Charlo is one of the biggest names in global boxing.”
The Ring Magazie, widely regarded as the seminal boxing ranking system, has Charlo as the No.10 pound-for-pound fighter today after he unified the division by stopping Brian Castano last month.
The WBO, the sanctioning body in which Tszyu is the No.1 mandatory challenger at super-welterweight, has ordered Charlo to defend that title, but because he also holds the WBC, IBF and WBA belts, the fight would be for all four major belts. They have until June 20 to make the fight, or else a purse bid will be held.
The Sydney Cricket Ground precinct has played host to major boxing events in the past – the first Anthony Mundine vs Danny Green bout there remains the biggest pay-per-view event in Australian history.
Muhammad Ali visited the ground in the 1970s, and coincidentally Tim Tszyu made his professional debut in December 2016 in the SCG’s Noble Dining Room against Zorran Cassady.
Tszyu, 27, is recovering from hand surgery but said he would be fit to fight in late August should that be the case.
“I’ll be ready to fight when the date is set,” Tszyu said.
“Everything is going smoothly with the recovery, I can move my hand around, I can do everything, I just can’t punch at the moment.
“I want to make sure it’s 100 per cent before I do anything, I don’t want to do anything stupid, start punching and then re-injure it. “This is the moment, this is where everything leads to.”
If not in Australia, the fight is set to take place in the US in October or November.
“I’m thrilled by the whole spectacle, but I’m not overwhelmed at all. This is not too intense for me, I know it’s crazy to say, but it just feels normal,” Tszyu said.
Tszyu (21-0, 15KO) and Charlo (35-1-1, 19KO) have bad blood stemming from two years of trash-talk between the pair, with Charlo belittling the Australian as “Tim Kostya Tszyu” – suggesting he is only in the frame because of his famous surname.
Even after his win over Castano, Charlo dismissed Tszyu as a genuine opponent by referencing Terrell Gausha’s first-round knockdown against Tszyu in their title eliminator in March.
“Didn’t he get dropped? That mother—er’s out. He got dropped,” Charlo said, even though Tszyu rose to dominate the remainder of the fight.
“This is my Zab Judah moment,” said Tszyu, whose father unified the light-welterweight division in 2001 with his famous second-round knockout over Judah.
“This is the moment that every kid dreams of, and the best thing about it is he reckons it’s going to be a walk in the park. But I guarantee it’s no walk in the park for him.”
