“Boxing is better when Errol Spence Jnr is in the ring,” said TGB Promotions president Tom Brown in a recent promotional press release, but of course it’s Brown’s job to say as much.
Now it’s Spence’s job to prove it.
Spence, 28-1 (22 KOs), a former unified welterweight champion who hasn’t fought since a punishing July 2023 loss to Terence Crawford, will return against Tim Tszyu on July 25 in Tszyu’s native Australia.
Tszyu-Spence will lead a card promoted by No Limit Boxing, Man Down Promotions and TGB Promotions. A venue will be announced in the coming weeks.
“I’m grateful to be back,” Spence said. “I took time away to live in the moment, travel and to give my family my full attention. I got to enjoy the rewards of my hard work with the people who matter most. Now I’m locked back in.”
That remains to be seen, of course. Spence, a New Yorker now living in Desoto, Texas, is 36 years old, coming off a huge layoff and stepping up to junior middleweight for the first time when he faces Tszyu. A 2019 auto accident nearly killed him, and he has won just once since suffering a detached retina in 2021 – a 10th-round stoppage of former welterweight titleholder Yordenis Ugas that is now four years old.
“Three years away from the sport changed my perspective completely,” Spence said. “I’ve grown mentally and physically sharper, and I’m more disciplined and locked in with a deeper level of appreciation.”
Tszyu, 27-3 (18 KOs), isn’t so sure of that – though he has had his own recent hurdles to overcome. A bloody split decision loss to Sebastian Fundora – the first defeat of Tszyu’s career – was initially viewed by most as a combination of rotten luck and a gross miscalculation. But he was stopped by Bakhram Murtazaliev in his next fight and exited early in the rematch with Fundora – all within a 16-month period. Tszyu, 31, has since bounced back with wins over Anthony Velasquez and Denis Nurja, and has declared himself ready for this latest challenge.
“They call him ‘The Truth,’ the ‘Big Fish,’” Tszyu said of Spence. “I’ve always said I’m hunting the biggest fights and biggest names and now I’ve got one right in front of me.
“I’ve kept the receipts from everything he’s said about me – the tweets, the doubt, all of it. This motivates me even more to knock him out. I respect what Errol Spence Jnr has done in this sport, but that was then. While he’s been staying away, I’ve been in the fire. I’ve taken my hits, I’ve learned the hard way, and I know I’ve come back better. I’m ready to retire him.”
Spence said facing Tszyu on his turf in his first fight since being battered by Crawford was a calculated decision.
“I chose to come back in his hometown for a reason,” Spence said. “No tune-ups. No easy road. I’m stepping straight into his backyard into the fire because that’s where I do my best work. On July 25, I’m not aiming to make a return. I’m making a statement.”
Tszyu isn’t impressed.
“I’m undefeated at home and he’s stepping into my backyard,” Tszyu said. “While he’s trying to prove he’s still there, I’m about to prove that ‘The Truth’ was a lie all along.”
