Who is Tony Harrison? Record, titles, bio, age, stats of Tim Tszyu opponent heading into 2023 boxing fight
Tony Harrison says he sees “a lot of bad things” in Tim Tszyu ahead of their fight in Sydney that are “not championship level”.
American Harrison attempts to cause a stir on March 11 (March 12 in Australia) against the home contender for the interim WBO super welterweight title.
“The guys you fought to get number one are f—— disgusting,” Harrison told Tszyu, questioning the caliber of his opponent’s competitions while speaking to The Sporting News .
What is Harrison’s own record? Here’s a look at his career, including how old he is and who he’s beaten.
How old is Tony Harrison?
The fighter known as “Super Bad” was born on September 6, 1990 in Detroit which means Harrison is 32 years old.
A student of Hall of Fame coach Emanuel Steward, Harrison was also the grandson of Henry Hank, who won 62 fights during his 19-year professional career while his father, Ali Salaam, was a professional boxer.
“My dad didn’t want me to box, but my mom got tired of seeing me suspended,” Harrison said, recalling being raised as the second youngest of eight children. “She told my dad to take me to the gym.”
Audio recording by Tony Harrison, bio
Led by his father and steward, Harrison won 75 of his 87 amateur fights, collected two Michigan Golden Gloves titles and reached the semifinals of the National Golden Gloves tournament.
Harrison made his professional debut in July 2011 in Hamburg on the undercard of the heavyweight title fight between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye, which was one of the last fights Steward – trainer of Klitschko – was involved in before the legendary trainer died the following year .
The quartet of four-round bouts that started Harrison as a pro ended in first-round KO wins for the newcomer, who won another 17 straight bouts before being beaten by Willie Nelson in the ninth round when they fought in Florida in 2015.
Three wins later, Harrison failed when he challenged Jarrett Hurd for the vacant IBF super welterweight title in Alabama in February 2017, suffering another knockout in the ninth round.
He landed a title, however, when less than two years later he challenged Jermell Charlo for the WBC super welterweight title, claiming a unanimous decision that doomed his opponent to the only loss of his career to date.
Charlo retaliated almost exactly a year later, but Harrison showed commendable courage in surviving a second-round knockdown before eventually being dropped again late, with the fight flagged down in the 11th round.
Harrison did not fight for almost 16 months until his subsequent fight and moved to California with Bryant Perrella in April 2021.
Another year passed before Harrison defeated Sergio Garcia to win a WBC minor super welterweight belt by 10-round unanimous decision.
When does Tszyu play Harrison?
- Date: Saturday March 11 | Sunday March 12th
Tszyu last fought in March 2022, defeating Terrell Gausha in his first fight in the United States.
It will be just under 12 months out of the ring for Harrison when fight night arrives.
Tszyu vs. Harrison start time
- Main Card: 10:45 p.m. ET | 3:45am GMT | 2:45 p.m. AEDT
- Main event: 1 p.m. ET | 6am GMT | 5 p.m. AEDT (approx.)
Where does Tszyu vs Harrison take place?
Tszyu will fight for his first world title in his hometown of Sydney.
Qudos Bank Arena was chosen to host the world championship match between Tszyu and Harrison. Sydney beat out competition from Melbourne and the Gold Coast for the right to host the blockbuster event.
The arena at Sydney Olympic Park has a capacity of just under 20,000 and a sell-out crowd is expected to see the popular Aussie in action.
Tszyu has already headlined a show at the venue, defeating Takeshi Inoue via a unilateral unanimous decision back in November 2021.
Tszyu vs Harrison cards
Ticket sales for the event continued Friday February 10th But fans who registered for the presale with No Limit Boxing were able to get early access.
General sale tickets can be purchased here through Ticketek, starting at $49 and going up to $5,000 for those who want to treat themselves to a ringside seat.
Check out the Ringside and Hospitality packages here.
How to watch Tszyu vs. Harrison
In the United States, Tszyu vs. Harrison is available on Showtime. Viewers can stream Showtime from Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Xbox ONE, a laptop, or any mobile or tablet device.
You can watch the fight in Australia via the Main Event on Kayo (PPV).
Tszyu vs. Harrison fight card
Several rising stars of Australian boxing will appear on the map.
MORE: Tszyu vs. Harrison Undercard: Who Else Is On The World Title Fight Card?
Tszyu’s younger brother and rising star Nikita, as well as Paulo Aokuso and Sam Goodman are in the mix.
- Tim Tszyu vs. Tony Harrison for the interim WBO super welterweight title
- Sam Goodman vs. TJ Doheny; Super bantam weights
- Ben Mahoney vs. Koen Mazoudier; Super welterweights
- Paulo Aokuso vs. Yunieski Gonzales; Light heavyweights
- Issac Hardman vs. Rohan Murdock; super middleweight
- Iman Khataev vs. Gi Sung Gwak; Light heavyweights
- Nikita Tszyu vs. Bo Belbin; Super welterweights
- Shanell Dargan vs. Courtney Martin; featherweights
Who will win?
Tszyu is likely to start as a favorite but faces a tough task at Harrison.
The Detroit native scored a unanimous decision victory over Jermell Charlo in 2018 to lift the WBC title at 154 pounds before going down via 11th-round TKO in the rematch.
Tszyu risks a lot by accepting the challenge instead of waiting for Charlo, but he doesn’t see it that way.
“Every fight you fight is on the line – you’re just one shot away from hitting the bottom,” Tszyu said from his training camp in the United States. “It is what it is, 100 percent gambling, but that’s what I do.
“This guy was the next best option available. I don’t care who’s in front of me, I’m ready to take them down.”
Tszyu vs Harrison betting odds
Bookmaker Palmerbet currently has Tszyu as the $1.35 favorite to defeat the former champion, with Harrison holding a $3.15 shot at the win.
Tim Tszyu via KO or TKO is considered by players to be the most likely outcome and costs $2.40.
Quotas exactly on 7/3/23.
Get knockout betting value in boxing with great promos every fight at Palmerbet!