Errol Spence Jr vs Tim Tszyu: A Closer Look At This Intriguing Matchup

The term crossroads fight is overused. It is a cliché and a common trope, signaling two fighters from yesteryear who have lost step, as an attempt to make you give a damn. You rarely see a main event fight between two headliners where a loss could derail their future, but in the case of Tim Tszyu versus Errol Spence Jr, that is exactly what we are faced with (and a pay-per-view price tag of $79.99).

The bout taking place in Australia will pit two stars who face uncertainty about their future.

The Fast But Bumpy Rise of Tim Tszyu

Tszyu (27-3, 18 KOs) rose through the ranks and looked to be a future pound-for-pound talent, highlighted by a spectacular 2023 that included a stoppage of Tony Harrison. The following year appeared to be his breakout, when he went from good to great. He was set to face Keith Thurman, the first PBC pay-per-view under a new deal the promoter secured with Prime Video after Showtime left the sport. Thurman would withdraw, and the 6’ 6” Sebastian Fundora would be swapped in. Fundora was coming off a knockout loss to Brian Mendoza, and Tszyu had beaten Mendoza in the fall. On paper, it was a no-brainer: Tszyu would beat Fundora and move on to a Thurman fight later.

Then, the fight happened.

Tszyu started strong but suffered a cut on his forehead that would rival the stinging blow Voldemort dealt Harry Potter. Tszyu’s corner was chaotic; rather than a well-established cut man with loads of experience, it appeared he had a friend working on the cut. The result was crushing – he would lose a close fight. Tszyu was built for challenges; as the son of former Hall of Fame boxer Kostya Tszyu, he appeared to want to build his own legacy rather than be babied. He was announced to fight Vergil Ortiz but was ruled out of the bout. His return would eventually come against IBF belt-holder Bakhram Murtazaliev.

Once again, despite suffering a cut in his previous bout and Murtazaliev beating an older Jack Culcay for the vacant belt, it was expected that Tszyu would courageously defeat a titleholder and return to the main event scene, looking to unify. Boy, were we wrong. Tszyu was battered by Murtazaliev, who dropped him three times in the second round and stopped him in the third. It was the worst-case scenario.

The hopes still lingered. He does big numbers in Australia, but maybe everything was rushed? A win over Joey Spencer gave people hope, but being stopped by Fundora last July in an uncompetitive fight was deflating. The punishment was adding up, and at 31, were Tszyu’s best days already behind?

Tszyu has won two fights since then. Neither was a substantial world-class performance. He has changed teams and trainers multiple times, now working with Jeff Fenech. Tszyu looked to be a guiding pillar in the future of boxing heading into 2030; now he is looking to channel what he has left.

Are We Going To See ‘The Big Fish’ or An ‘Old-Growth Fish’

For Spence (28-1, 22 KOs), it isn’t much different. He won three of the four welterweight titles. He built a strong social media following and had a strong merch game. Remember “Man Down”; it sounded cool and was something Spence proclaimed before most of his fights.

It was three years ago, when he fought Terence Crawford, and we could argue that the beating Crawford gave him knocked the Hall of Fame out of the fighter. Billed as a mega-fight of the generation, it was anything but that. Crawford was on a different level; Spence suffered a hellacious beating that left him inactive until this fight. In addition, Spence had a notable car crash and famously failed an eye exam in Nevada for the licensing of his fight against Manny Pacquiao.

Spence left his previous trainer, Derrick James, and now trains with Ronnie Shields. He is fighting at middleweight rather than welterweight, and no one knows what to expect from him. Spence in his prime was better than Tszyu, but neither is in their prime.

And how much do they have left?

Forgiving the pay-per-view price tag, which will create a barrier to entry for many intrigued by this bout, given the tough economic times, it is fascinating. If they fought three years ago, this would be one of the biggest fights in the sport. Now, they are fighting to stay in the sport. The loser will get high-level b-side fights and, dare I say, become a gatekeeper. The winner: well, they will get their pick of interesting bouts in a middleweight division that never rebuilt in a post-Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin world.

Errol Spence Jr. vs. Tim Tszyu Will Stream Live on Pay-Per-View

Normally, PPV fights are about potential, the future, and what is ahead. This one is so much different. It is about what is left. We know both have been great, but they have also taken some bumps along the road. The matchup pits two fighters with major question marks about durability, less about longevity. If we are being honest, neither has much left, and that is fine.

Not unlike two gunslingers showing up for the final act of a movie, exhausted and worn ragged by the tough life they lived, Tszyu and Spence meet as two grizzled pros who don’t quite look the same. It isn’t their demeanor; it might not even fully be how they pass the eye test anymore. It is just an innate feeling you get as a fan. You can’t explain it, but you have been along the journey for so long; you just know it isn’t the same. Not unlike when you go to someone’s deathbed and see them, something isn’t right; it is a subtle hint, one that can only be observed by someone close. For a fight fan who lives and dies by the weekly boxing schedule, these are the emotions I feel in the build-up.

Sometimes you have to be happy it happened rather than sad that it is over. When a musical act is recording a good album 10 years past their prime, the hope is that we get something that mirrors the past; reaching the pinnacle is unlikely, but sometimes the right matchup makes for a great fight. Given that they enter from a similar spot in the sport, there is always hope that this will be a moment that changes the story for one, if not both.

Lucas Ketelle

Lucas Ketelle is a boxing writer and podcaster who has appeared on various platforms throughout his career.

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