Tim Tszyu (28-3, 18 KOs) silenced his critics with a dominant victory over former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence (28-2, 22 KOs) yesterday in Sydney, Australia — including former champion and boxing commentator Timothy Bradley.
It was a result that many thought would go the other way. In the build-up to the fight, there was much talk of Spence being a big welterweight who would be able to go toe-to-toe with Tszyu.
Spence had a good game plan focused on attacking Tszyu to the body, hoping to break down the younger fighter. Tszyu is a more conservative fighter under trainer Jeff Fench (himself an Australian boxing legend).
Tim Bradley’s off prediction
“Errol Spence is going to beat Tim Tszyu. He is going to knock him out. Tim Tszyu is done,” Bradley said on his YouTube channel in the build-up to this fight.
“[There has been] a lot of knockouts and wars for Tim Tszyu, man. He gets hit too much. That is what happens when you get hit too much, your time is up real fast.”
Bradley did not hedge. He even said Spence’s new trainer should be good for Spence in an Instagram post. Instead, it looks like Spence is done after losing—118-110 and 117-111 twice. This wasn’t a hometown decision.
The PBC fight, shown on DAZN and PPV.com, was perhaps the most competitive of the weekend’s three major fights. Yet, one could make the case that while Anthony Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) showed his chin is gone, Tyson Fury’s (36-2-1, 25 KOs) seven rounds against a 46-year-old never was. Both of those fights created more questions than they answered.
At 31, Tszyu proved that he is far from done and answered many questions about his future in the sport.
What’s next for Tim Tszyu?
He is the son of former light-welterweight world champion Kostya Tszyu (31-2, 25 KOs), who will be remembered as one of the greatest in that division. His younger brother, Nikita Tszyu (12-0, 10 KOs), may have a higher ceiling. However, following his win, Tszyu is still very much in the mix at 154 lbs. and 160 lbs., the weight class this fight was contested at.
Tim Tszyu could be in the ring again this year against WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (32-3-3, 19 KOs) as a potential future opponent. That opens up a potential return for Terence Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs), as a Tszyu-Crawford fight would have the makings of the sort of event Netflix might be interested in. Crawford’s presence ringside in Sydney added to that speculation.
Why else would Tszyu work so hard to face off against a ring-rusty Errol Spence other than that he is a former opponent of Crawford?
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