In an email to the WBA's Australian representative Derek Milham, the organisation's championship committee chairman Renzo Bagnariol told Tszyu he must negotiate with Vivian Harris, the holder of the standard WBA super lightweight title. If not, Bagnariol warned Tszyu would be stripped of the WBA title belt if he next fought Mitchell.
Tszyu, who hasn't fought since January 2003 because of shoulder and Achilles surgery, is committed to fighting IBF interim titleholder Mitchell before November. The IBF gave Tszyu a nine-month injury exemption until November this year to fight Mitchell after a shoulder injury forced him to withdraw from a fight against the American in Moscow last February.
Tszyu's manager Matthew Watt said on Wednesday his fighter had no problem with facing Harris, but was committed first to facing Mitchell.
Watt said the WBA had been pressured into its ultimatum by Harris' New Jersey-based promotional company. "The WBA is being pressured by Main Events and really it's going to come down to if the WBA is prepared to give Kostya Tszyu an extension of injury and I don't know the answer to that," Watt said.