One of the more annoying traits of boxing analysis is when the pundits feel they know when an aging, beaten fighter is “washed.”
That tag has been attached both to Errol Spence Jnr for his one career defeat, and to Tim Tszyu, who stood as an unbeaten WBO 154lbs champion just more than two years ago.
More than one expert has labeled these 30-somethings as being done. Yet, Texas’ former three-belt welterweight champion Spence, 28-1 (22 KOs), has had three years to regenerate from his July 2023 beatdown at the hands of five-division champion Terence Crawford.
And like Spence’s addition of a new cornerman in Ronnie Shields, Australia’s Tszyu, 27-3 (18 KOs), has a new trainer in Hall of Famer Jeff Fenech beyond the benefit of home-country advantage fighting at Sydney’s Afterpay Arena.
The Prime Video/DAZN pay-per-view fight card begins live in the U.S. at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific Saturday night.
“We’re gonna both come to fight and I guarantee you it’s gonna end early,” Spence said at Friday’s news conference Down Under, while Tszyu said, “I’m coming to make a fight that people will be talking about for years and years to come.”
The pair, fighting as middleweights, are sort of joined at the hip in defending the accusations of what they have left.
Spence has blamed a lax training camp under former cornerman Derrick James for his showing against Crawford, and Tszyu has admitted he suffered a bit from PTSD in his brutal 2024 knockout loss to Bakhram Murtazaliev after dealing with a horrid head gash months earlier versus still-reigning 154lbs champion Sebastian Fundora.
A repeat loss to Fundora last year by stoppage fanned the flames that Kostya Tszyu’s 31-year-old son is toast. Tszyu has followed with a pair of tune-up victories, and he’s only a slight underdog to -125 betting favorite Spence.
“When the timing is right, it’s right,” Tszyu said. “I feel like this is the perfect timing for a perfect story. I’ve had my failures in my career, but I’ve always been able to bounce back and keep grinding. It’s the pursuit of achieving something hard. I think this is the biggest test of my life since I was a young kid. I’ve always fought for a moment like this.
“This doesn’t feel like a normal fight. This is a Super Bowl fight for me. I hope he’s feeling the same thing, because when we collide, it’s gonna be a great fight for the fans.
“We’ve got two stars that have attributes that should make this an incredible fight.”
Spence noted that the defeats absorbed by he and Tszyu leave a feeling that each has his back against the wall. That doesn’t mean either proud ex-champion has fallen off the proverbial cliff.
“I’m gonna get the best Tim Tszyu. He’s been training hard and he’s extremely focused. He’s gotta come with it all,” Spence said.
“He says he’s gonna press me and put his will on me. That’s his style. I’m gonna be one of the best versions of me. I’m focused and I’ve been training hard. I’m ready to go.
“I don’t think he’s gonna be reckless, but he’s definitely gonna come at me and try to force his will on me.”
As to Spence’s prediction that the fight will end early, over 9.5 rounds is a -125 betting favorite.
“Everybody comes in there to hurt the other guy. My plan is always to impose my will, beat them up and hopefully stop them,” Spence said. “If the opportunity is there, I’m definitely gonna take it.
“I see his mentality. He’s coming in no-holds-barred and ready to fight. He’s the pride of Australia and he’s coming to defend it.
“There are definitely a lot of questions about how I’m gonna come back. I’m ready and I’ve been training hard. There’s no pressure on me, because I’m not trying to prove something to anybody. I’m looking to prove to myself that I still have it.”
Spence participated in a 2019 fight-of-the-year candidate by defeating Shawn Porter and he recovered from the horrific crash of his Ferrari later that year to defeat welterweight champions Danny Garcia and Yordenis Ugas.
