Openly conceding to having a huge chip on his shoulder, Brian Mendoza is promising to shatter Tim Tszyu’s world-title dreams with a brutal display of sustained firepower.
Key points:
- Tim Tszyu and Brian Mendoza will fight on Sunday, with Tszyu’s super-welterweight belt on the line
- Mendoza said that losing two fights in his career had been fuelling the fire to take Tszyu down
- The action gets underway from 11am on Sunday, with ABC Sport live blogging from the Gold Coast
Mendoza (22-2, 16KOs) is convinced Tszyu (23-0, 17KOs) won’t be able to cope with his relentless counter-punching when Australian boxing’s son of a gun puts his WBO super-welterweight belt on the line on the Gold Coast on Sunday.
The 29-year-old American is riding high after recording a thunderous against-the-odds knockout win over Sebastian Fundora to claim the WBC super-welterweight strap.
“Once he gets you — and he’s a finisher and everything — but I think just based off the facts I have more explosive shots,” Mendoza said after a workout in Sydney on Monday.
“The thing about me is I have power, but I’m not just a power puncher. I don’t go in there trying to look for one shot. I’ll hurt you for 12 rounds.
“I do look for the knockout. I do want to put on a big show. That’s why I even got called here to this country in the first place for this title fight.
“But I’m in there to put punishment on you for 12 rounds — however long the fight needs to go for me to get that victory.”
While he fully respects Tszyu, Mendoza says the bitter aftertaste of two defeats in 2019 and 2021 are fuelling his bid to end the Sydney slayer’s undefeated career.
“I have a bigger chip on my shoulder. I have more to prove each time out,” he said.
“I always hated to say that, but it is something I needed to go through, something I had to experience, because before you feel that taste of defeat, it’s something impossible. It’s unfathomable. You really don’t think it’s possible and then it kind of crushes in reality.
“So when — if — you can make it through the ups and downs of that roller coaster, there’s a lot to come out through on top of that.
“And I just really, really had to dig it out, so that hunger is really what makes a difference here.”
The WBC’s refusal to strip undisputed king Jermell Charlo of his belt despite the American reneging on his deal to fight Tszyu has denied Tszyu the chance to follow in his father Kostya’s footsteps by unifying the division with victory over Mendoza.
Mendoza had to vacate his interim title to face Tszyu for WBO honours only, but has no regrets.
“It’s crazy how the world turns. When I was a kid, like a young kid, I wasn’t even too interested in boxing,” Mendoza said.
“My dad was a huge fight fan and we would always go to fight parties and watch the fights and stuff, and we used to watch Kostya’s world title fights and everything. Really entertaining.
“Now we flew across the world to fight his son for a world title. Just crazy.”
Join ABC Sport at abc.net.au/sport on Sunday as Simon Smale live blogs all the action from the Tim Tszyu v Brian Mendoza fight on the Gold Coast
AAP