Undisputed Jr Middleweight champ and Houston native Jermell Charlo was set to defend all the straps against Tim Tszyu of Australia, the son of legendary former 140-pound world champ Kostya Tszyu. That fight is off, at least for the time being, due to a hand injury suffered by Jermell Charlo.
Charlo provided a doctor's note from an orthopedic specialist from the Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports MedicineSugar land. The letter was dated December 23rd. Three days after injuring his hand during a mid-week sparring session. It is signed by Dr. Vincent Chau Phan and states, “He [Charlo] has sustained a left scaphoid fracture and 5th metacarpal base fracture. He will be placed in a short arm cast at this time. It is my recommendation that Jermell should refrain from upper extremity training that involves impact for 2 months.”
This was apparently not sufficient for the WBO as they issued A Notice of Medical Certification was issued to Charlo. Additionally, told WBO Championship Committee chairman Luis Batista-Salas told event promoter Tom Brown Mr. Charlo is hereby ordered to submit within the next 5 days upon issuance of this notice a detailed medical explanation of his injury, findings, recovery prognosis, and his orthopedic specialist’s opinion as to when will he be physically and medically cleared to compete and return to active competition,”
This means that Charlo will have until New Year's Day, Jan 1, 2023, to produce the document. It appears that Charlo has provided this in his original letter from Doctor Phan. It documented the injury and duration. It's from a licensed doctor who is anorthopedic specialist. So it's unclear exactly what more Charlo could provide.
There are also rumors that Tszyu will fight former world champion Tony Harrison in a bout for the WBO Interim title. Or that Harrison could fight Bakhram Murtazaliev in an eliminator. It's a fluid situation at the current time. However, one thing is certain the January 28th fight scheduled for Las Vegas is off atleast for now.