Australian boxer Tim Tszyu is poised to become the WBO super welterweight world champion as Jermell Charlo is slated to be stripped of the title when he faces off against Canelo Alvarez. The World Boxing Organization (WBO) announced on Thursday that Charlo will lose his belt the moment he steps into the ring with Alvarez in their highly anticipated Las Vegas super fight.
This twist of events will promote Tszyu, the interim champion, to full championship status. Consequently, his next fight, tentatively scheduled for October, will serve as his first world title defense. The front-runner to challenge Tszyu appears to be American Brian Mendoza, the current interim WBC champion.
There’s uncertainty as to whether the World Boxing Council (WBC) will follow the WBO’s lead and strip Charlo of his title. If they do, Tszyu’s bout with Mendoza could potentially become a unification world title fight.
The announcement came after a press conference in Sydney where it was revealed that Tszyu’s younger brother, Nikita, would headline his first Pay Per View event against Jack Brubaker at the historic Hordern Pavilion. The groundbreaking news of Tszyu's elevation to world champion arrived only a week after the undefeated Australian boxer had pledged to become “the face of boxing worldwide”.
Image Credit: Premier Boxing Champions