Jermell Charlo claims Tim Tszyu 'can't take my punch' after Aussie stopped Tony Harrison in Sydney

Jermell Charlo has fired the first shot in the war of words with Tim Tszyu, claiming the Australian won’t be able to deal with him when the two meet in a mega-fight later this year.

Tszyu (22-0, 16KO) stopped Tony Harrison in nine rounds in Sydney on Sunday to claim the WBO super welterweight belt and set up a unification fight against Charlo (35-1-1, 19KO) which will in all likelihood be staged in Las Vegas.

And the undisputed champion of the division has set his stall out early ahead of his blockbuster showdown with the Aussie.

‘He doesn’t really show a lot of athleticism to me,’ Charlo said as part of Showtime Boxing’s coverage of the fight in the US.

‘When you’ve got skills, and you’ve got styles and you’ve got power all together, you get four belts. He’s going to be a tough fight because he’s coming forward, but I think he’s perfect for my style.

Jermell Charlo currently holds the WBA, WBC and IBF the super welterweight belts

Tim Tszyu won the WBO super welterweight world title on Sunday in Sydney 

‘I know he can’t take my punch, because I just know my punch is different […] It just made me want to fight, just get this over with, shut him up, I’ve shut a lot of them up, it’s just another one.

‘He’s going to do the same thing. He’s not going to change much.’

Tszyu and Charlo were meant to fight in January, but the bout was cancelled after the WBO, WBC, IBF and WBA light middleweight champion broke his left hand.

The Aussie instead bolstered his chance to have a shot at the US champion by beating Harrison, hitherto the only man to have stopped Charlo.

Speaking after the fight, Tszyu made clear the undisputed super welterweight champion was firmly in his sight.

‘I just beat the man who beat the man. What does that make me?,’ he said.

‘The message was sent clearly. You know what’s up. You know what’s next. I’m coming.’

And while Charlo admitted Tszyu was impressive in his ninth round stoppage of Harrison, he noted there were aspects of the Aussie’s approach he would exploit when the two collide.

‘He was impressive. He did what he had to do at home,’ he said.

‘He was a little flat to me but my movement, my style and my power will make him do completely different things. When I get my [left] hand right and get back into the ring for training, put that tape in. That will work.’

‘This is exactly what we had seen.

‘He comes forward but is not as fast. He’s strong, of course, but aren’t we all? I’m a different animal in there than Tony.’

Tszyu stopped Tony Harrison (left) in nine rounds following a brutal series of punches

Harrison (right) is so far the only man to have beaten Charlo (left) in 37 fights

But Charlo insists he will have nothing to fear against Tszyu later this year

However, he warned Tszyu’s approach won’t be as successful if replicated against him. 

‘I’m a different fighter than Tony [Harrison],’ he explained. 

‘You can’t compare me and try to compare Tony’s skills in boxing. He didn’t dog it out. He didn’t bring that dog in him.

‘If he wanted to fight me, he’d have to bring more dog in him. But Tim is next and that’s who we had before the injury so it’s not like I’m not prepared already.’