No Limit confirms Lara-Tszyu title fight, site and date TBD
Despite a late push from Vergil Ortiz, Tim Tszyu has snared a world title fight on home soil next month.
The former WBO junior middleweight champion will challenge Erislandy Lara (32-3-3, 19 KOs) for the WBA 160-pound crown.
Several reports in Australia suggest a late November date, with paperwork signed last weekend and venues across four cities interested in playing host.
In a press release announcing the news Tuesday, Tszyu said: "Lara is an great champion. He's slick, clever and stylistically very hard. He'll want to turn this into a chess match but I’ve never taken the easy road. I want the man with the belt, and I'll drag him into a fight he doesn't want."
"At 160 I feel strong, sharp and dangerous. Middleweight is my division now, Spence was just the appetizer. Having Jeff Fenech in my corner means everything. He knows exactly what it takes to win titles at multiple weights, and he's in my ear every single day. Liam Paro already did it this year, now it's my turn."
No Limit CEO George Rose was similarly excited.
"Lara is a nightmare for anyone. He's a genius in there and spent a decade making the best in the world look silly. Plenty of big names have found reasons not to fight him. Tim wanted and called for him by name. He wants legacy and the time is now."
Tszyu (28-3, 18 KOs) named the 43-year-old southpaw as a targeted opponent in the build-up to his points win over former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence on July 26.
After announcing his retirement post-fight, Spence later deemed it a 50-50 encounter when asked for a prediction in the post-fight press conference.
Lara scored two knockdowns en route to a wide 12-round decision win over short-notice foe Johan Gonzalez during his most recent appearance December 6.
Notoriously inactive, the Texas-based southpaw has boxed just four times since moving up from junior middleweight, scoring a first-round knockout of Thomas LaManna in May 2021.
That was for the WBA "regular" title, before his elevation to full champion in March 2023 after Gennadiy Golovkin relinquished the belt.
Former undisputed 154-pound titlist Jermell Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs) is ambitiously slated to feature on the undercard. It comes almost four years after a Charlo-Tszyu fight was canceled after the American broke his hand training for their January 2023 title clash.
Brock Jarvis, who Keith Thurman stopped in three rounds last year, has been mentioned as a potential opponent while other domestic names are being sought.
Code Sports has named rising middleweight Callum Peters (9-0, 8 KOs) and light heavyweight Kirra Ruston (10-0, 10 KOs) as two that will feature, with more announcements to come.
Ortiz (24-0, 22 KOs), meanwhile, will make his middleweight debut later this year after two years and five fights at 154 pounds.
Rather than waiting for clarity at championship level, he will forgo his WBC interim titleholder status with a bout vs. Thurman expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Ortiz's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, unofficially confirmed as much during the Floyd Schofield-Lucas Bahdi weigh-in on October 9.
"We'll get him back on track, he'll have a world title shot soon," he said. "The 160-pound division right now is there for the taking and Vergil can steamroll right through everyone.
"I saw his struggles in his last couple performances in making weight, not in the ring fighting — he did phenomenal — but was struggling to make the weight. He's a big kid. At 160. We'll see his full potential, and every world champion you put them in line, he'll beat them all."
