Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) fights for the first time in nearly three years on Saturday, July 25, meeting Tim Tszyu (27-3, 18 KOs) in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view from Afterpay Arena in Sydney, Australia. The card begins at 9 PM ET Saturday, Sunday afternoon local time, and is available on Prime Video, DAZN pay-per-view and traditional cable outlets, with main event ring walks expected around midnight ET. The bout was originally discussed at a 158 pound catchweight and is now reported as a 160 pound contest following continued negotiations.
Spence vs. Tszyu
Spence, 36, has not fought since July 2023, when Terence Crawford dropped him three times and stopped him in the ninth round of their undisputed welterweight title fight. The former unified IBF, WBA and WBC welterweight champion is now training under Ronnie Shields and has chosen to end the layoff on hostile ground.
“Tszyu has been dismissive of me. He’s saying his little things about how he’s gonna retire me. At the end of the day, it’s a war. He’s coming to retire me and take my name. I’m coming to conquer his country. I’ll shake his hand after the fight, but right now it’s game time,” Spence said at the launch press conference in Las Vegas, per FightNews. He also addressed the time away: “I feel mentally sharper right now. This layoff gave me time to reflect a lot and recover. I’ve been boxing for a long time at the top level, ever since the amateurs. I needed this break.”
The two continued the exchange during a recently released edition of PBC Face To Face. “This fight came at the perfect moment,” Spence said. “This was the first time I started training continuously and kept waking up every day feeling like I was ready to come back. I didn’t want a tune-up, so when Tim Tszyu got brought up, I said I’ll fight him in Australia,” via FightNews.
Tszyu, 31, has never lost on home soil and headlines in Sydney for the first time since climbing the world rankings. The former WBO junior middleweight champion has won two straight since his rematch loss to Sebastian Fundora last July, most recently a decision over Denis Nurja in April. “It’s an honor to headline the greatest fight card ever assembled in Australia,” Tszyu said when the event was announced. “Errol Spence Jr. is a legend of this sport, one of the greatest to ever do it, but on July 26, I get to take him out once and for all. Moments like this are history-making. They are rare; you don’t want to miss it.”
On the question of what Spence has left after three years away, Tszyu reached for a familiar reference. “I know what you’re made of. Of course. But when it comes to fight night, all the plans, as Mike Tyson once said, ‘When you get hit, all your plans change.’ So that’s what it is. We shall see,” Tszyu told Premier Boxing Champions, as reported by Boxing News 24. “I’m not saying it in a disrespectful way, am I? I respect what you’ve done in your career, but you haven’t had a fight in three years. How can I say that?”
Fulton vs. Wilson
Former two division champion Stephen Fulton Jr. (23-2, 8 KOs) faces Australian former title challenger Liam Wilson (18-3, 10 KOs) in a 10 round junior lightweight bout. Fulton, who held titles at 122 and 126 pounds, is looking to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to O’Shaquie Foster in his last outing. Wilson gets a significant name in front of his home crowd and has been rebuilding since his own title challenges came up short.
Charlo vs. Mazoudier and the Rest
Jermall Charlo (34-0, 23 KOs) continues his comeback in a 10 round super middleweight bout against New South Wales fighter Koen Mazoudier (15-4-1, 6 KOs). The unbeaten former two division champion, now 36, is having just his third fight in five years, and Mazoudier represents a step down from recent opponents Jose Benavidez Jr. and Thomas LaManna. The pay-per-view portion opens with unbeaten Australian Olympian Callum Peters (7-0, 6 KOs) in a 10 rounder, with Paul Fleming vs. Ahmad Reda at lightweight and Paulo Aokuso vs. Luis Antonio Tejeda at light heavyweight also on the bill.
