Tim Tszyu and Errol Spence Jr. need each other to continue the next chapter of their careers

Tim Tszyu and Errol Spence Jr. are on a quest for a boxing resurrection and their long-awaited encounter is on July 25 in Sydney. They’ll be fighting at middleweight (catchweight at 158 pounds) and the former is the only one with experience in the division. 

Tszyu, the Sydney native, retired on his stool against Sebastian Fundora after seven rounds of their second fight on July 19, 2025, and has gone on to win two 10-round contests by unanimous decision versus lower-level competition. His trainer in his last two has been Pedro Diaz, and it had previously been Igor Goloubev before him.

Defense has never been Tszyu’s strong suit and one of his habits has been admiring his work without getting out of the way. Even with how he lost to Fundora, only a fool would question his heart, yet his body is another story. 

Tszyu fought Fundora the first time in March 2024, with his WBO super welterweight belt on the line, and the vacant WBC title was up for grabs. He was looking sharp through two rounds against the man eight-and-a-half inches taller than him, yet an accidental elbow opened a gash over his hairline that leaked crimson the rest of the fight. Tszyu still left Fundora’s nose gushing, which made it one of the goriest fades one will ever see but lost on the cards and probably a piece of himself, too. 

He instantly stepped into a tough fight against Bakhram Murtazaliev nearly seven months later and was wiped out in three rounds. He’s 3-1 since. 

Spence has not fought since Terence Crawford stopped him in nine rounds for the undisputed welterweight titles in late July 2023. Before that night, he held the IBF, WBC and WBA straps and was trained by Derrick James. He’s now working with Ronnie Shields, yet it’s unclear how much of his heart is still in the game, despite vowing to show “a better, more improved” version of himself. 

At the presser on May 2, Spence said the day came when he woke up and wanted to come back, and that he wanted Tszyu because he doesn’t take tune-up fights. Tszyu countered that it isn’t recommended to go straight into the firing line. 

When speaking about the camp for the Crawford fight in an interview with former super middleweight and light heavyweight champion, Andre Ward, Spence said that he didn’t have quality sparring partners and was mainly working on the pads with James plus got zero time with southpaws. James’ side of the story is that Spence’s father ordered no more sparring after his son was hurt, which James said he didn’t see when it happened. 

Enough has come out from James and Spence to know they had a rinky-dink camp for the biggest night of their lives. Still, it was Spence’s responsibility to say something if a problem occurred and him not doing so perhaps indicated that the purse overshadowed legacy. It’s hardly a knock on a fighter to say they battled for the loot, but Spence’s legacy was dented by how he looked against Crawford, which had some to do with his preparation. 

Spence would have still lost him if he had a perfect camp, but who knows if he would have caught a ferocious battering or maybe been the one to stop Crawford’s streak of knockouts with a decision on the cards. Keep in mind that he was Crawford’s last KO. 

More questions surrounding Spence are how much punch resistance is left and how much ring rust should be expected? Tszyu is not a natural middleweight, yet his artillery is highly threatening to a former welterweight (147 pounds). Sparring with headgear and bigger gloves can only keep a fighter so sharp.  

Tszyu said it would be a “cracking fight,” and Spence said he’s going to deliver the upset. Both of them need each other to climb out of purgatory.