Trent Reinsmith
- Who: Tim Tszyu vs. Tony Harrison
- What: WBO Junior Middleweight Interim Title
- Date: March 11, 2023
- Location: Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia
- How to Watch: Showtime
Tim Tszyu was initially booked to face Jermell Charlo for Charlo’s undisputed junior middleweight title in January. That fight fell apart in December after Charlo broke his left hand in two places during training. In January, a bout between Tszyu and Tony Harrison for the WBO junior middleweight interim title was announced.
Tszyu (21-0) is coming off a March 2022 unanimous decision win over Terrell Gausha. The 28-year-old Australian has 15 career wins via knockout and another five by decision. Tszyu enters his matchup opposite Harrison as the No. 3 rated fighter in the junior middleweight division, according to The Ring.
The 32-year-old Harrison is a former WBC light middleweight champion. He won that title in December 2018 via unanimous decision over Charlo. However, Harrison lost the belt in the rematch. Charlo knocked out Harrison in the 11th round of that December 2019 matchup. Harrison (29-3-1) is 1-0-1 since the second Charlo fight, fight Bryant Perrella to a split draw in 2021 and beating Sergio Garcia via unanimous decision in 2022. Harrison, who is the No. 4 rated junior middleweight, according to The Ring, has 21 knockout wins and eight decision victories. Harrison’s most recent knockout came in February 2018 via George Sosa.
Before we look at the WBO junior middleweight interim title fight between Tim Tszyu and Tony Harrison, check out the best boxing betting sites, where you can find the best boxing picks.
Tim Tszyu vs. Tony Harrison picks
| To Win WBO Junior Middleweight Interim Title |  |  |  |  |
| Tony Harrison | +200 | +200 | +215 | +198 |
| Tim Tszyu | -250 | -275 | -270 | -294 |
Tim Tszyu vs. Tony Harrison prediction and pick
While this bout doesn’t have the appeal of the Tim Tszyu vs. Jermell Charlo matchup, fight fans should not sleep on this matchup because it features two of the best 154-pound fighters in the game and it should set the winner up for a unification bout against Charlo once his hand is healed and he is ready to compete.
This fight is likely to come down to how Tony Harrison approaches it. Harrison is a skilled boxer, who tends to fight in one of two ways. He is either a stationary fighter or someone who employs his footwork and uses movement and distance to his advantage. If Harrison decides to eschew using his legs against the more powerful Tszyu, he will find himself in trouble. However, if Harrison gets on his bike early and employs active footwork throughout the junior middleweight matchup, he should be able to using his skills to out box his opponent. With that being said, all three of Harrison’s losses have come by way of knockout, so there’s always a chance that Tszyu finds an opening and ends things with one big punch.
Who has the edge?
Harrison is, without a doubt, the better technical boxer. He uses his lead hand well to throw out probes, feints and jabs. He then follows those with his power combinations. Harrison also uses that lead hand to post his opponent, which allows him to score with power strikes to a stationary target. Harrison is also excellent at controlling time and space in the open, but he can also overextend himself and get his head in front of his feet if he throws his jab from too far back.
Like his opponent, Tszyu likes to use probes. Unlike Harrison, Tszyu can do so with either hand, which gives him advantages when it comes to finding spots to create offense. While Harrison excels in the open, Tszyu is more successful in controlling things on the ropes. If Tszyu can trap Harrison there and find an opening for an overhand right, he has a chance to win this fight by knockout.
Best Bets for Tim Tszyu vs. Tony Harrison
As mentioned above, the outcome of this fight depends on how Tony Harrison approaches it. With that, I think the best bets here are to either go with Tim Tszyu to win via knockout or Tony Harrison to win via decision. The best approach to betting Tszyu vs. Harrison might be to hedge. With that in mind, I’m going to go with the value in Harrison to win by decision.
Best bet for Tim Tszyu vs. Tony Harrison: Tony Harrison to beat Tim Tszyu via decision.
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