Tim Tszyu will put a guaranteed world title shot on the line against Japan's world-ranked Takeshi Inoue, with the face of Australian boxing hellbent on proving "I'm the best there is".
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Tszyu is ranked No. 1 by the World Boxing Organisation, and takes on the WBO No. 7 on November 17 at a venue to be confirmed, with promoters No Limit Boxing aiming to make a decision as soon as next week.
Inoue has tasted defeat just once in 19 professional fights, in a world title bout against one of the world's premier fighters in Jaime Munguia.
Now he comes to Australia determined to upset Tszyu's world title ambition, with the latter on the verge of fighting for the super welterweight crown.
"It's time to take on the best in the division so a former world title challenger who is ranked seventh in the world might be considered a dangerous fight but for me it's the perfect challenge," Tszyu said.
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"I got into the mandatory position by being active and beating everyone they put in front of me so I'm not going to stop now.
"I know Takeshi Inoue is world class but I plan on proving that I'm the best there is."
Tszyu has been mandated to fight for the WBO super welterweight championship, currently held by Argentina's Brian Castano.
The WBO confirmed Tszyu's place as the mandatory challenger to his promoters at No Limit Boxing last month, so he could easily have sat back and waited for a shot at the belt.
But Tszyu has remained adamant he wants to stay busy, given staying busy has allowed him to make a quick rise up the world rankings.
No Limit chiefs were locked in negotiations to secure Tszyu a fight against Tony Harrison before the American contender ultimately turned his back on the opportunity.
"We have been chasing big names, major challenges and dangerous fights and we have certainly found one in the world number seven Takeshi Inoue," No Limit chief executive George Rose said.
"It will be a massive event and like the legendary clashes between Japanese star Fighting Harada and our own greats Lionel Rose and Johnny Famechon we look forward to Tszyu [versus] Inoue becoming a piece of boxing history."
Tszyu's world title shot would fall to pieces with a loss to his Japanese rival but the 26-year-old showed little interest in waiting it out, given a rematch between Castano and Jermell Charlo to unify the division is still a possibility.
A rematch between the two kings of the division hinges on whether Charlo is made to fight his mandatory challenger for the IBF belt, Bakhram Murtazaliev of Russia, while No Limit chiefs believe Castano is unlikely to fight again this year.
It leaves Tszyu to wait for until 2022 for his shot at the title, with promoters moving ahead with plans for the Australian star to fight on home soil in November.
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