Tim Tszyu Should Face Yoenli Hernandez Next

Yoenli is one of the best young middleweights in the sport. The unbeaten Cuban has combined his outstanding amateur pedigree with power, stopping nine of his first 10 opponents. He has looked like a future world champion from the start of his professional career, making him the ideal measuring stick for anyone with title ambitions at 160 pounds.

At 31, Tszyu doesn’t have the luxury of taking three or four tune-up fights before stepping into meaningful competition. If his goal is another world title, he’ll eventually have to beat fighters on Hernandez’s level or deal with champions like Carlos Adames. Defeating lower-ranked contenders first would do little to answer the questions surrounding his future in the division.

A victory over Hernandez would immediately establish Tszyu as a legitimate middleweight contender. It would erase much of the doubt created by his recent defeats and place him within striking distance of another title opportunity. Losing would provide an equally valuable answer by showing that the division’s bigger, stronger fighters present a hurdle he may not overcome.

Tszyu rebuilt momentum with his victory over Spence, but that win came against an opponent making his first appearance in nearly two years. Middleweight presents an entirely different challenge. Hernandez offers the type of test that reveals exactly where Tszyu belongs.

Instead of spending months collecting routine victories, Tszyu should take the direct route. If he wants to reinvent himself at middleweight, there may not be a better first opponent than Yoenli Hernandez.