LAS VEGAS – There’s great tension fueling prizefighting in the unknowns of prior damage, a long layoff and venturing great distance to hostile ground.
All of that is bundled in former three-belt welterweight champion Errol Spence Jnr’s return from a near three-year absence to meet former 154lbs titleholder Tim Tszyu on July 26 in Australia (July 25 in the U.S.).
During a formal fight-announcement news conference at MGM Grand on Saturday, Spence, 28-1 (22 KOs), confronted each of the subjects head on. This will be his first bout following his destructive loss in July 2023 to now-retired five-division champion Terence Crawford, in which Spence was downed multiple times en route to a ninth-round TKO defeat.
“I’m sure everyone has their opinions thinking I’m a shell of myself, asking, ‘Do I still have it?’ It’s just,” Spence said. “I’d be thinking the same thing. But I guarantee on July 25, you will see a better, more improved Errol Spence. The three years off helped me mentally, physically, gave me some time to recover and just enjoy life, the spoils of my wins while being with family and friends, my kids.”
There’s no shame in having one loss on the record to the best fighter of the past decade. Spence, 36, said he considered that only “a little bit,” but also felt the tug of his career’s ticking clock.
“It was more just waking up and deciding one day, going to the boxing gym and deciding, ‘Man, I need to come back,’ thinking about it to be sure,” he told BoxingScene in a session with reporters.
“I’m happy to put on a great show, fighting in front of all [of Tszyu’s] fans, disappointing them and showing you why they nickname me, ‘The Truth.’”
Spence’s retreat from the sport was a sharp contrast to the methods of Tszyu, 27-3 (18 KOs), who has absorbed all of his losses in the past 26 months, including his horribly bloody first loss to Sebastian Fundora, a four-knockdown beatdown at the hands of Bakhram Murtazaliev later that year, and a TKO defeat in the Fundora rematch last year.
During Spence’s hiatus, Tszyu has fought seven times, including an April victory in his home country that convinced him working with boxing-technician cornerman Pedro Diaz was not the solution.
Tszyu has retained Australia’s Jeff Fenech, the forward-fighting International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, as his new trainer for Spence.
“He’s an inside fighter who brings the heat and is one of the greats of his generation, so I’d love to learn from him,” Tszyu said of Fenech. “Spence is big and [a] southpaw, throws a lot of punches [like Fundora], but Errol Spence will be maybe easier to hit.”
While accepting that his own recent defeats have come against one of the stacked 154lbs division’s best fighters, Tszyu agrees losing to Crawford is excusable.
“The question is what does Errol Spence have left in the tank after three years off?” Tszyu said. “I’m going to bring the heat, and he’s the one dealing with the rust ... he hasn’t been in motion, so I’ll be ready to jump on him.”
Bringing the 158lbs catchweight fight to a yet-to-be-finalized Australian venue – which a promoter said could challenge the 2017 Manny Pacquiao-Jeff Horn welterweight title fight as the biggest in the nation’s history – is a first victory, Tszyu said.
“It’s a big advantage – my family is 55-0 in Australia. Numbers don’t lie,” Tszyu said in reference to his former undisputed 140lbs champion father, Kostya Tszyu, and brother, fellow junior middleweight Nikita Tszyu.
Spence has aligned with a new cornerman, too: Houston’s Ronnie Shields.
Spence worked to immediately inflame the rivalry with Tszyu in what fight fans could identify as a loser-goes-home type of affair.
As they crossed paths before the news conference, Spence blew off Tszyu’s extended hand. And then Tszyu worked onstage to praise Spence and invoke boxing history into their match.
“It’s a tough assignment. He throws a lot of punches, drowns people,” Tszyu said of Spence, who defeated Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, Mikey Garcia, Yordenis Ugas, and ventured to England to first take the IBF belt from Kell Brook nearly a decade ago.
Considering that run, Tszyu equated a meeting with Spence to his father’s 2000 TKO of Julio Cesar Chavez Snr in Phoenix.
“Back in the day, my father fought Chavez when he was the No. 1 guy … and beat him,” Tszyu said. “This is the top moment to reflect on the caliber of the event, because I grew up watching Errol Spence, and the fact I’m now fighting Errol Spence.”
Spence wasn’t buying it.
“I think it’s cute. This is not that. This is Errol Spence versus Tim Tszyu, and he’s not the caliber of his daddy. He can’t compare himself to his pops. He’s fighting me to get out of his daddy’s shadow. We’ll find out July 26 [in Australia] if he can,” Spence said.
In a later side-session with reporters, Spence said: “He’s coming to take my name, I’m coming to conquer his country. We’re going to war. I don’t give a fuck about shaking hands.”
Tszyu chafed at those responses from the Texan.
“I’m a very respectful guy. I came up to him to shake his hand and he walked past me like a disrespectful fuck. It just shows what kind of person he is,” Tszyu said.
“The comparisons between me and my dad … I’ve heard it, from every fighter, it’s the same thing.”
So Spence clarified his position.
“I’m not one of those dudes who sees people talking shit on social media and then wants to be buddy-buddy when you see me in person,” Spence said. “We can hug after the fight. It’s a war. I’m coming to his hometown, his territory, and I’m looking to take over. He’s coming to destroy and retire me. I’m coming to show him he’s not up to my pedigree.”
Visibly agitated by the exchange, Tszyu clicked back to what his father did to the similarly defiant Chavez, stopping him in his final title shot.
Tszyu said all he’s thinking of is “victory. … I wanted to give [Spence] a shake and a hug – because it’s his last fight.”
Spence said he’s forever emboldened by the fact he ventured to Sheffield, England, and won his first belt by defeating a prime Brook. Taking on a dinged Tszyu has some age on the task, but still inspires.
“He’s a balls-to-the-wall fighter, never gives up, always comes to fight,” Spence said. “If you’re not fit, he’s going to put that to the test.”
Spence sought to separate himself from Tszyu by reminding he doesn’t need tune-up fights. Shields – who’s trained ex-two division titleholder Jermall Charlo and Evander Holyfield – pointed to Spence’s preparation and immediate commitment.
“He gets up for big fights – that separates the good fighters from the greats, and it’s why he doesn’t mind going to Australia,” Shields said. “He’s going there to win.”
Continuing the theme of being his own man and doing things on his terms, Spence revealed his former friendship with previously undisputed 154lbs champion Jermell Charlo has distanced.
“Dude been kind of jealous of me; he’s looked at me as PBC golden boy,” Spence said of Jermell, who has flirted with the notion of a comeback after being out of the ring since September 2023.
“There’s a reason he doesn’t have a fight yet and a reason why when I say I’m ready, I get a fight. People are tired of giving him a fight and going into the red. Where can Jermell fight at? Not even in Houston can he sell out.”
Spence said he’s up for honoring Australia’s roots by walking to the ring with Aboriginal Australians, waving their flag and basking in the moment with the culture’s music.
Fighting at 158 means Spence could take the victory to either a middleweight title shot, or seek out someone like Premier Boxing Champions stablemate Fundora or the winner of the June 27 Xander Zayas-Jaron “Boots” Ennis unified title bout.
“One fight at a time. I’m not mapping out anything,” Spence told BoxingScene. “Just going with the flow and enjoying the whole process.”
Spence said he appreciates the concerns of fans and followers who assess that he took too bad of a beating from Crawford and has been out of the ring too long to return against an ex-titleholder.
When a reporter asked about Spence previously having slurred speech, he blamed it on dental reconstruction following his harrowing 2019 Ferrari crash.
“I’m all right. How’s my speech now?” he asked after the thoughtful session. “With my teeth, air can’t come through there, so when I say my S’s, that’s from the car accident. I appreciate everyone’s concerns. I had my concerns.”
He also indicated there were reasons that sabotaged his performance against Crawford.
“I’ll talk about that in my documentary if Netflix wants to buy that,” he said. “I’m a realist. I can see why people would think [I’m] a shell from the outside looking in, but it’s going to be a good show.
“You all haven’t seen me, but the fire never left. I’ve been in the gym and feel I’ve got a lot left. I’ve been in boxing for a long time, since the amateurs. I needed a break that I never got, even after my car accident, or my eye injury [that scrapped a Manny Pacquiao fight in 2021]. I felt clarity and a lot more rejuvenated.
“I’m just living in the moment, enjoying the process. It feels real good to be back. All this will be gone one day, so I’m embracing everything.”
