Tim Tszyu vs Tony Harrison Results: Tszyu Wins Via TKO9

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – In a high-stakes battle, Tim Tszyu beat the man who beat the man.

Tszyu systemically broke down, dropped, and stopped former WBC 154 pound champion Tony Harrison in the ninth round on Saturday night.

With the win, Tszyu claimed the vacant WBO interim-junior middleweight title and in turn, moves forward to a showdown with undisputed 154-pound world champion Jermell Charlo. Harrison is the only fighter to defeat Charlo, who knocked out Harrison in a December 2019 rematch.

The bout began at a measured pace. Harrison landed the first meaningful punch of the round, a quick jab, with just over two minutes remaining in the opening round.

Another jab split Tszyu's tight guard with 40 seconds left in the first. In the late moments, Tszyu connected with a solid right hand.

Harrison began the second round by firing jabs. Tszyu, however, blocked all of them, and countered him with a left hook. With less than a minute left in the round, Tszyu countered Harrison with a right uppercut that forced him to hold.

Round three was a huge one for Tszyu. With roughly 1:30 remaining in round three, Harrison landed a jab that knocked Tszyu back. Moments later, Harrison connected with a left hook. Tszyu, though, countered Harrison with a huge counter overhand right that sent Harrison staggering into the ropes. He followed up with a series of thudding right crosses.

As the fight progressed, it became more one-sided in Tszyu's favor. The 28-year-old connected with the more effective blows in the fourth round, including a left hand that sent Harrison back. Late in the frame, Tszyu also utilized his head movement, which caused Harrison to miss with a variety of shots.

Tszyu mixed in some solid body work in the fifth round. He connected with a counter right to the body and followed up combinations to the head and the body.

The overwhelming pressure from Tszyu troubled Harrison once again in the sixth round. He moved his man to the ropes and connected with stiff lefts and rights. Harrison spent most of the frame on the ropes and landed some jabs.

Harrison had a solid seventh round. He fought off the ropes, but was effective, landing with jabs and right hands that backed up Tszyu.

Tszyu (22-0, 16 KOs) pounded a defenseless Harrison and uncorked five right uppercuts on him as Harrison stood against the ropes in round nine. Detroit’s Harrison (29-4-1, 21 KOs), 32, eventually fell to the canvas after absorbing another right hand to the side of his head, and a left hook as referee Danrex Tapdasan looked on.

Harrison rose to his feet, but was in no condition to continue as referee Tapdasan finally waved off the fight.

Tony Harrison may have hit the end of the road…

Harrison beat the count, but Tapdasan mercifully stopped their scheduled 12-round bout. The official time of the stoppage was 2:43.

Prior to beating Harrison, Tszyu was already the WBO’s mandatory challenger for one of Charlo’s belts. Charlo was initially slated to defend his undisputed championship versus Tszyu on January 28 in Las Vegas. Charlo, however, fractured two bones in his left hand while sparring just before Christmas.

Tszyu, who was going to face Charlo coming off a 10-month layoff, then decided to take what appeared to be a significant risk by facing Harrison to avoid a year-long absense from the ring. It turned out to be a good decision as it was a one-sided bout from the second round on.

Harrison was coming off a 10-round unanimous decision win against Sergio Garcia last April 9 in Las Vegas.