American boxing great Shawn Porter says Jermell Charlo has erred by delaying his hyped unification bout with Australia’s Tim Tszyu, who is himself promising to revive a famed 1980s boxing moment on the Gold Coast this Sunday.
Arriving Down Under this week to work the Tszyu fight coverage, Porter has tipped the undefeated Sydneysider to finish Mexico’s Carlos Ocampo — and potentially start his run to becoming a “global superstar” — inside the Gold Coast Convention centre this weekend.
It comes as Tszyu also promised to make Ocampo quit in his first defence of the interim WBO super welterweight title, saying the two words he has been thinking about throughout camp are ‘No Mas’.
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The phrase, which is Spanish for ‘No More’, was made famous in boxing over 40 years ago, when Sugar Ray Leonard stopped Roberto Duran to regain the WBC welterweight championship.
The second of three bouts between the pair, its notoriety comes from a moment at the end of the eighth round when Duran turned away from Leonard and towards the referee, then quit by apparently saying, ‘No mas’.
Himself a two-time welterweight champion, Porter agreed he could see Tszyu earning a quick finish over Ocampo, while revealing his thoughts on the impending Tszyu-Charlo blockbuster have also changed considerably over the past 12 months.
The American said Tszyu’s decision to roll the dice with headline fights against Tony Harrison and Ocampo this year – while Charlo remains sidelined – means any future showdown between the pair is now a “50/50” fight.
“A year ago, I would’ve said Charlo wins that fight easy,” Porter said, when speaking about the impending Tszyu showdown after Friday’s press conference.
“And even after seeing (Tszyu) fight Tony, I thought while it would be a hard fight for both guys, Charlo is still going to win.
“But now? With Tim being busy, keeping the workrate up and riding the wave of being consistently successful?
“This fight is getting harder for Charlo month after month.
“The more Charlo stays out of the ring, not fighting – especially while Tim is getting in the ring and fighting – it’s just becoming a harder fight for Charlo.
“Right now, it may even be 50-50.
“Because I see Tim really maturing.
“When you get in the ring with someone and they say ‘well, who have you fought?’ … each fight is a step up the ladder and I believe Tim is taking all the right steps.”
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Elsewhere, Porter also praised Tszyu as world No.1 for his decision to continue rolling the dice while Charlo remains sidelined with that busted right hand, suffered back in December.
“I read people easily and what I read from Tim is that he’s no nonsense, all about working hard and he’s here to be on top,” the former world champ said.
“Tim isn’t just here to say he did it.
“He’s not here to just win a belt and go home.
“He really wants to become a global star and I love that about him.
“I think, right now, Tim is the best functional fighter in the world. He’s busy.
“A lot of fighters don’t realise it’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
“I take six months out of the ring and nobody remembers what I did, nobody remembers who I am.
“But he’s been consistent.
“And he’s keeping the work right there in front of everybody.
“You can’t deny Tim.
“Especially if he puts it down against Calos Ocampo. Two fresh appearances this year and another near the (American) fall, that’s great.”
Tszyu, meanwhile, fronted journalists after Friday’s press conference to reveal he was about to turn his phone off, go for a swim at the beach and then drive some Gold Coast streets in his loaned Ferrari.
The fighter who underwent emergency surgery after a dog bite just three weeks ago also said he now felt like “I have a pit bull inside of me, but a controlled pit bull.”
“And as soon as I put on the suit this morning (for the press conference) I felt it,” he grinned. “Someone is getting bitten.”
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Elsewhere, Tszyu also refused to be drawn on hyped revelations that his team is already in discussions about a Las Vegas headliner for next March, which would run in conjunction with the 2024 NRL season launch.
No Limit CEO George Rose confirmed the talks with Fox Sports Australia this week, and suggested the proposed March event would hopefully double as the first Tszyu unification title defence.
Yet when asked bout the idea, Tszyu said only: “I’m not concentrating on that, I’m concentrating on this fight.”
Asked if, given Sunday’s fight is being broadcast live into the US, he hoped to wow American fans by finishing Ocampo quicker than the round it took Errol Spence Jnr way back in 2018, Tszyu shook his head.
“Nah, I’m not going for something like that,” he said.
“He fought Errol Spence at 21 years old.
“Was still a baby.
“Experience plays a big part and he’s now six years on.
“It’s now 15 fights after Errol Spence and he’s done a lot. So I can’t disrespect him like that.
“It could happen.
“But I also know he’s going to be tough and it could go the whole 12 rounds. So the main thing then is to put on a clinic.
“For me it’s the two words I’ve been repeating over and over in my camp ‘No Mas’.”
Asked who wins Sunday’s fight, Porter continued: “Stylistically, I think it works toward Tim.
“Ocampo is a straight ahead fighter, not much movement, which means he’s going to be right in line for just about everything Tim throws.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a quick night.”
Porter also praised the way Tszyu had responded after enduring emergency surgery on a dog bite just three weeks ago.
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“And I really relate to Tim in a lot of ways,” Porter said.
“Just seeing him over the last couple of months, learning about him … I was the same way.
“It didn’t matter what was going on, at the end of the day I have to get into the ring, do what I do and be great.
“And Tim’s daring to be great.
“Anyone who questions what he’s doing right now, they don’t understand true greatness.”
Asked what he learned about Tszyu from the Harrison stoppage, which he also saw live in commentary, the two-time champ continued: “Tim grew up quickly during that preparation and on fight night he grew (again).
“I saw that fight going differently.
“Tony didn’t do some of the things I expected from him, but the thing everyone said about Tim, ‘he will overwhelm you and he will break you down’ … that’s exactly what he did to Tony.
“He’s just sharpening his skills, too.
“It’s not just about being overbearing.
“And that’s the best thing about Tim, to be able to switch things up in the ring, it’s going to be really beneficial for him getting past Ocampo and toward Charlo.”