AMERICAN superstar Jermell Charlo has bizarrely claimed Tim Tszyu was helped to the biggest win of his career by salty tap water, while also warning “your daddy ain’t in the ring with you” should they fight later this year.
Already dubbed the face of Australian boxing, Tszyu will look to win his way into a hyped Charlo blockbuster when he throws down against Mexico’s Carlos Ocampo at the Gold Coast Convention this Sunday.
Fighting for the interim WBO super welterweight title, the bout will be Tszyu’s second since Charlo withdrew from their proposed January showdown.
The Sydneysider has since rolled the dice with both Ocampo and America’s Tony Harrison, who he beat via brutal ninth round stoppage in March.
Speaking on Showtime overnight however, Charlo suggested Tszyu was aided in the Harrison fight by Australian tap water.
The undisputed super welterweight king also took a dig at ‘The Soul Taker’ for trying to mimic his Hall of Fame father Kostya Tszyu’s style.
Asked about his impending showdown with Tszyu, Charlo suggested he would “take his will from him right away”.
Unprompted, he also took a shot at the Tszyu family saying: “I don’t care about none of that.
“Your daddy ain’t in the ring, your daddy era is old.
“You keep up with that style, you don’t adapt to this new era, this new style, you’re going to end up having more problems anyway.
“Mohammed Ali was great in his era.
“This is a different era right now.”
Asked about Tszyu’s most recent win over fellow American Harrison, Charlo suggested that something was off with the fighter who beat him for the WBC crown back in 2018.
“I feel like something ain’t right with him,” he said.
“Something about Australia.
“The way we get treated in America in fight week and all that, I felt like it was a little bit different.
“I know for a fact he didn’t have his business orientation as well.
“They probably put him in a nice hotel … they have nice hotels all over the world … but the secret thing about Australia is they got a little salt in their water.
“So just rehydrating is going to be bad.
“Just by the way you losing your weigh, cutting, then you putting salt water in your body, you holding on … maybe the weight cut was the issue.
“I’m not trying to make an excuse for him but … it’s a little different over there, bro.
“It had to be, just the audience, something wasn’t right with him.
“Me personally, if I’d have went over there I would have used that crowd, I would have automatically eliminated the crowd.
“Shut ‘em up and keep ’em shut up.
“You doing good, you winning rounds; every time Tim try to do something they getting rowdy, I would use that energy.”
