Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) will unfortunately have to wait a bit before he makes his first defense of his undisputed title. He suffered a broken hand during a sparring session this week in Houston, and today it was announced that his fight vs #1 rated WBO contender Tim Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs) will be postponed to a later date that should be announced soon.

Charlo has been on a historic run the last few years, and capped it off in May of 2021 when he became the first junior middleweight undisputed champion in the four belt era. He did so in emphatic fashion scoring a tenth round knockout over then WBO champion Brian Castaño (17-1-2, 12 KOs).

He has built up one of the best resumes in the sport recently. His run to claim the undisputed crown included wins over Erickson Lubin (24-2, 17 KOs), Austin Trout (36-5-1, 18 KOs), Tony Harrison (29-3-1, 21 KOs), Jeison Rosario (23-4-1, 17 KOs), and the aforementioned Castaño. He has proven to be one of the best fighters we have in the sport today, someone who embodies the “old school mentality” that we preach and want all fighters to follow.

It is a shame that this fight will not be happening next month, and lets hope that the recovery process goes smoothly and Jermell can get back in the ring sooner rather than later. The fight was originally planned to take place at the end of 2022, but a Tszyu hand injury saw the fight scheduled for January 28th of 2023. The sport of boxing is certainly better when a champion like Charlo is active and giving us the fights we want to see!

Below I have included some quotes from both Charlo and Tszyu regarding the postponement, courtesy of BoxingScene.com.

“I was sparring, and I threw this nice punch and as soon as it landed, I knew something was wrong. I felt my hand throbbing right away,’’ said Charlo. “I had two X-rays and an MRI to see what was wrong. It showed it was broken in two places. I hate this feeling. My hand will be in a cast for two months. I’m as disappointed as the fans, maybe more, because this was my first chance to defend the undisputed title.”

“The way I am, I would have beaten Tim Tszyu with one hand, but the doctors and the boxing commission won’t allow that. It’s even more dangerous when a lion faces adversity and has to come back to defend the pride. I’ve been training since July, and I’ve been hitting harder than ever, and these are the things that happen when you push yourself to the limits. After my hand heals, I’m coming back stronger than ever to defend my legacy.”

“I’m very disappointed,” said Tszyu. “I felt like the stars aligned for undisputed…but we move on. I’m ready to take on the next mandatory challenger. I’ll be back for Charlo once he is ready and healed.”