Undisputed champion Charlo breaks hand, defense vs. Tszyu postponed
Jan. 28 fight on Showtime is off, no new date yet
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Undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo broke his left hand in two places during a recent training session and his mandatory defense against Tim Tszyu was postponed on Saturday night, organizers announced.
Charlo and Tszyu were due to meet on Jan. 28 in a Showtime-televised main event at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, but now the fight is off with no new date yet set.
According to the announcement of the postponement, Charlo broke his hand between the pinkie and ring finger and at the base of the thumb after landing a punch in sparring at his gym in Houston on Tuesday.
After visiting two doctors and a hand specialist in Houston, his hand was placed in a cast. It will remain in a cast for two months. After it is removed, Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs), 32, of Houston, will begin rehabilitation before resuming his training.
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“I was sparring, and I threw this nice punch and as soon as it landed, I knew something was wrong,” Charlo said in a statement. “I felt my hand throbbing right away. I had two X-rays and an MRI to see what was wrong. It showed it was broken in two places. I hate this feeling. My hand will be in a cast for two months. I’m as disappointed as the fans, maybe more, because this was my first chance to defend the undisputed title.
“The way I am, I would have beaten Tim Tszyu with one hand, but the doctors and the boxing commission won’t allow that. It’s even more dangerous when a lion faces adversity and has to come back to defend the pride. I’ve been training since July, and I’ve been hitting harder than ever, and these are the things that happen when you push yourself to the limits. After my hand heals, I’m coming back stronger than ever to defend my legacy.”
Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs), 28, of Australia, the son of Hall of Fame for undisputed junior welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu, relocated to Los Angeles about a month ago for training camp with the plan to go to Las Vegas at the end of this month. He will remain in the United States for the time being and continue training, his spokesman told Fight Freaks Unite.
“I’m very disappointed,” Tszyu said. “I felt like the stars aligned for undisputed, but we move on. I’m ready to take on the next mandatory challenger. I’ll be back for Charlo once he is ready and healed.”
Tszyu stepped aside earlier this year to allow Charlo to have a rematch with Brian Castano to unify the four 154-pound titles following a previous draw. They met in a sequel in May in Carson, California and Charlo knocked out Castano in the 10th round to retain the WBC, IBF and WBA belts and take the WBO title from Castano to become the first four-belt undisputed junior middleweight champion and the first undisputed champion in the division since Winky Wright unified titles against Shane Mosley in their first fight in 2004.
While Charlo was preparing for the rematch with Castano, Tszyu made his Showtime and American debut in March in Minneapolis in a unanimous decision over former title challenger Terrell Gausha. Now Charlo and Tszyu are most likely looking layoffs of about a year, depending on the new date.
“This is not the news that anyone wants to hear because we’ve been anticipating this fight. But these things happen,” TGB Promotions president Tom Brown. “Jermell didn’t take the easy route to become the undisputed champion, so he knows that nothing comes easy. Tszyu better be ready, because Jermell will be stronger and hungrier than ever when he comes back.”
Said Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza: “We, like boxing fans around the world, are obviously disappointed to hear of Jermell’s injury and the resulting postponement. We wish Jermell a speedy recovery and we look forward to adding this important fight back to the Showtime schedule as soon as reasonably possible. We know both Jermell and Tim are anxious to give boxing fans the all-action fight that we have all been anticipating.”
Charlo photo: Stephanie Trapp/Showtime
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Thanks for the update Dan!
Too bad...
Rust breaks all. The utter lack of activity is endemic to PBC. Danny Garcia for example,(after 2 year layoff) got a “Tune Up” fight all the way back in July. Danny was talking about moving up to 154 and taking on Jermell. I never believed that in the first place. But now Danny’s likely gonna want another trip to Pep Boys Championship (PBC) for his annual maintenance and easy payday check. If and when he fights again. SMH. Stephen Espinoza is either a Simp or in cahoots with Uncle Al to fleece Showtime and its subscribers. Tim Tszyu and his team made a huge mistake trying to do business with these guys.