Fighter of the Month: Tim Tszyu gave another dominating performance
Tim Tszyu demonstrated in his strongest terms yet on Oct. 15 that he’s not just the son a famous fighter.
The offspring of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu methodically dismantled a solid opponent in Brian Mendoza over 12 rounds to retain his newly awarded 154-pound title in his native Australia, making him an obvious choice as Boxing Junkie’s Fighter of the Month for October.
Tszyu (24-0, 17 K0s) doesn’t do any specific thing extraordinarily well but his lack of an obvious weakness makes him an extraordinary fighter.
.@Tim_Tszyu wobbles Mendoza #TszyuMendoza pic.twitter.com/ROUjdZRMEJ
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) October 15, 2023
Mendoza (22-3, 16 KOs) was a problem in the first half of his meeting with Tszyu, during which the hard-punching American – coming off sensational knockouts of Jeison Rosario and Sebastian Fundora – arguably outworked the champion.
However, Tszyu took firm control from the seventh round on. He fiercely played the role of the power puncher, landing heavy blow after heavy blow — including a number of punishing uppercuts — to pull away from Mendoza on the scorecards.
Mendoza demonstrated impressive resilience – a lesser opponent wouldn’t have survived – but he had neither the skill set nor the firepower to withstand Tszyu’s punishing attack.
According to CompuBox, Tszyu outlanded Mendoza 120 (of 406) to 93 (of 433) overall and 98 (of 258) to 71 (of 225) in power punches.
Tszyu has now beaten in succession Terrell Gausha, Tony Harrison, Carlos Ocampo and Brian Mendoza, a run that has lifted him to the top of the junior middleweight division.
However, he told many outlets before the Mendoza fight that he won’t be satisfied until he beats the longtime 154-pound king: Jermell Charlo, who chose to fight Canelo Alvarez instead of Tszyu and lost a one-sided decision on Sept. 30.
Charlo said after his setback that he planned to back down to 154, which could set up one of the most-compelling matchups in the sport.
“Charlo, where you at?” Tszyu said after his victory. “Where you at buddy? In his delusional head, he’ll probably think he is going to beat me. Come get it.”
Charlo might not like what he gets if that fight happens.