The urgency supporting the Errol Spence Jnr-Tim Tszyu middleweight fight in Sydney Saturday night (U.S. time) is feeding the interest in a bout pitting ex-champions who are a combined 3-4 with no major victories since July 2023.
That shared desperation for a victory from former three-belt welterweight champion Spence, 28-1 (22 KOs), and ex-WBO 154lbs champion Tszyu, 27-3 (18 KOs), heightens the stakes for the Prime Video-DAZN pay-per-view at Afterpay Arena.
It also shaped the tone of the fighters’ comments at their grand arrivals staged near the Sydney Opera House. Continuing their icy exchange dating back to the introductory news conference in the U.S. in May, Spence, 36, maintained his position to not shake Tszyu’s hand.
“I don’t think he’s gonna try to shake my hand this time. He knows what it is,” Spence said. “I know he’s trying to be a gentleman, but he’s said stuff about breaking my eye and stuff like that and then wants to shake my hand. He’s talking about retiring me, so I’m not trying to shake your hand. You said what you said, now stand on it.”
Spence went as far as saying he doesn’t expect to shake Tszyu’s hand after the fight.
Tszyu, the son of legendary Kostya Tszyu, is hopeful to batter Spence like five-division champion Terence Crawford did in July 2023, knocking him down four times in Spence’s most recent bout.
Tszyu referenced the Eminem hit song and said this is his “Lose Yourself” moment.
With three losses since March 2024 that have included five combined knockdowns at the hands of WBC champion Sebastian Fundora and former IBF 154lbs champion Bakhram Murtazaliev, Tszyu has aligned with International Boxing Hall of Fame fighter Jeff Fenech as his trainer.
“There’s nothing personal from me. This is such a big moment in my life, so I’m just taking it with both hands. I just want to do some damage and get myself to the next level. This is what it takes,” Tszyu said.
“Instead of a tactical fight, I want this to be a fight that makes him ask himself ‘how bad do you really want this?’ When you’ve made all that money and had some time off, what’s your real motivation? Do you really want to keep going when it gets hard? For me, I’m all in.”
Spence has his own new trainer in Houston’s Ronnie Shields, who formerly cornered Evander Holyfield and the late two-division champion Vernon Forrest.
“Training camp was hard.” Spence said. “There were times where I just wanted to go home. It took a while for my body to really get adjusted to pushing the pace and going all out.”
The fight weight was increased to 160lbs, and Tszyu said he plans to remain at middleweight after this weekend’s outcome. The division is considered less deep than junior-middleweight, which offers Fundora, unified champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis and WBC interim champion Vergil Ortiz Jnr.
The middleweight champions are aged Erislandy Lara, Janibek Alimkhanuly and veteran Carlos Adames.
Spence indicated the weight increase does not mean he’s out of shape.
“People can think what they want to think about the weight, but on fight night they’re gonna see something different,” he said.
Australia’s Tszyu has rallied from a second Fundora defeat to claim two minor victories in New South Wales, Australia, during the past eight months.
“I’ve had a couple of these big moments. The first was the Jeff Horn fight, then Tony Harrison. Even with the Fundora fights, it didn’t feel like this,” Tszyu said of the bout’s magnitude. “This feels like something different. When you put it all on the line to roll the dice, it just gives me a feeling that’s hard to describe. When I feel it, I embrace it.
“I just want to get in there. I’m here to do what I’ve got to do, and that’s fight. I’m very grateful to have that opportunity.”
Spence, meanwhile, arrived in Australia last week to be greeted by Aboriginal citizens, embracing a similar attitude to his 2017 road trip to defeat England’s Kell Brook and take back the IBF belt.
“I’ve watched Spence’s fights against Kell Brook, Mikey Garcia and Danny Garcia,” Tszyu said. “But what I bring to the ring is completely different. And I’m going to be even more different than I was in my last fight.”
The card, including a co-main event featuring former two-division champion Stephen Fulton, begins Saturday at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific.
