Tim Tszyu and Brian Mendoza have both made the weight limit ahead of their highly anticipated WBO super welterweight world title fight on Sunday on the Gold Coast.

World champion Tszyu tipped the scales at 69.44kg at The Resort in Pacific Fair in Broadbeach.

Mendoza, the taller man by 4cm, was bang on the super welterweight limit of 69.85kg.

“I live for these moments and tomorrow night we get the job done,” Tszyu said before a tense, lengthy face-off against Mendoza, before smiling and shaking hands.

“We’re both ready to go,” Tszyu said.

“I’m just here to put on a great show,” a smiling Mendoza said.

Tszyu is defending the full WBO title for the first time since being promoted from interim champion after Jermell Charlo was stripped of the belt.

The Australian world champion is unbeaten in his 23 professional fights and is on a two-fight knockout streak.

“I’m not overthinking things,” Tszyu later told Fox Sports, “I’m more relaxed [than normal]. I feel in full control”.

He alluded to this likely being the last time he will fight in Australia and wanting to make the most of it.

“I know this is the last hooray here in Australia,” Tszyu said. 

“It’s hard, but I want to chase glory.”

Mendoza, 29, has a professional record of 22-2 with 16KOs and is on a three-fight winning streak, with his last two victories coming by knockout.

Is Tim Tszyu the world champion?

As of last month, Tszyu is the WBO super welterweight world champion.

In fact, this is the first full world title fight to take place on Australian shores since Jai Opetaia’s IBF cruiserweight title win in July 2022.

Tszyu has twice fought as WBO interim world champion, beating both Tony Harrison and Carlos Ocampo by TKO, but the interim title is not the big prize — that was held by undisputed champion Jermell Charlo.

As interim champ, Tszyu was in line to fight the American, but Charlo seemingly wanted to fight anyone but “To-zoo” as the American prefers to call him, with the fight postponed on a couple of occasions before being finally cancelled.

Charlo had a 16-month lay-off between beating Brian Castaño and his next fight, when he stepped up two weight divisions to fight at super middleweight late last month against Saúl Canelo Álvarez.

The WBO had enough of Charlo ducking Tszyu and said he would be stripped of his title as soon as he stepped into the ring to meet Canelo, elevating the next in line, Tszyu, to full champion.

Charlo, it’s safe to say, was not happy about it.

“Right now Tim Tszyu is considered a paper champion,” Charlo told Fox Sports before the fight against Charlo.

“A champion that didn’t have to do anything.

Charlo went on to say he would “make quadruple the money he ever will probably see his whole career” by fighting Canelo, but the fight did little to enhance the American’s legacy.

Canelo preceded to utterly destroy Charlo in a virtual shut-out to win by unanimous decision and retain all his belts at 76kg.

Undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford slammed Charlo’s performance, saying he let Canelo “spank him like he was his daddy with no type of resistance” and that he “should be ashamed”.

You say WBO world champion, does that mean?

The WBO is one of four major governing bodies that organises boxing at the world level.

The other major governing bodies are the IBF, WBC and WBA.

At super welterweight, which is also known as light middleweight or, simply, 154 pounds, Charlo remains the world champion in the IBF, WBC and WBA, as well as The Ring magazine’s champion.

Given he has three of the belts, Charlo is known as a unified champion. When he held all four he was considered the undisputed champion.

Mendoza is the current WBC interim champion, which is essentially the second-ranked boxer at the weight in that governing body.

Who is Brian Mendoza?

One thing the understated American is not, is a trash talker.

The WBC interim light middleweight world champion, who has been preparing for his first overseas fight in Sydney before flying to the Gold Coast on Tuesday, has been relatively quiet in the build up.

The friendly, affable American said he has enjoyed plenty of support from boxing fans in Australia too, but expects both things to change on fight night.

“I feel like people who flip the switch a little too early or force it come off corny,” he said on Monday in Sydney.

Tszyu has had a chance to see Mendoza up close, although his attention was probably elsewhere the last time they fought on the same bill.

Mendoza fought early on the undercard of Tszyu’s American debut against Terrell Gausha at the Armoury in Minnesota, beating Benjamin Whitaker by TKO in the fifth.