Tim Tszyu takes shortcut to another world title

Tszyu faces 43-year-old Erislandy Lara in a fight that offers major rewards but raises questions about his competition.

The fact that Tim Tszyu is set to secure another world title sounds good at first glance. But a closer look at his opponent puts things into perspective pretty quickly: Erislandy Lara is now 43 years old and fights only rarely. From the outside, it looks as though Tim Tszyu is taking a shortcut to a quick title rather than facing a real athletic challenge.

The fight between the two will take place on December 13. Erislandy Lara has defended his WBA title a total of four times. His current status, however, remains questionable, as many can’t quite understand his long period of inactivity.

Tim Tszyu, however, knows exactly what he’s doing. Erislandy Lara is a well-known name, and this fight offers a good opportunity to secure another title, and likely a very lucrative one at that. From a sporting perspective, however, this isn’t a particularly good move, as many will criticize that the title was too easy to win and that he should seek out a real athletic challenge. If he were to lose, his reputation would suffer considerably.

A victory would, of course, strengthen his negotiating position for future bouts, but he’d then have to face real top contenders to finally earn the respect of some fans. What do you think about this?