Why Tim Tszyu abandoned his leverage just to lure Errol Spence Jr. to Australia

Ten days before the biggest fight of his life, Tim Tszyu messaged his promoter, George Rose, at No Limit Boxing.

>Even though his July 25 collision with Errol Spence Jr. was on the horizon, Tszyu still felt like it was never going to happen.

>The fighters had been linked with one another for years through their affiliation with Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions, and negotiations for a showdown began at a proposed weight of 156 pounds, before they settled at a 158-pound catchweight.

>But less than two weeks before fight night, Spence's team requested the agreed-upon weight be bumped to the full 160-pound middleweight limit — the highest weight Tszyu, 31, will have ever fought at by almost three pounds.

>"Are you sure he's coming?" Tszyu asked Rose. "Because the pressure is on."

>Uncrowned asked Tszyu whether he was ever tempted to hold firm at 158, or if this would have risked scuppering the contest. "Honestly, I just want him here," Tszyu said. "It's taken a bit longer than expected."

>Resigned to relinquishing any leverage he had, Tszyu (27-3, 18 KOs) just wanted to get it over the line. "I'll say and do whatever it takes to make the fight happen," he said, even if it meant allowing Spence an easier weight cut in a foreign land.

>Tszyu breathed a sigh of relief once Rose confirmed to him that Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) had, indeed, landed. The Dallas athlete was in Australia. The fight was on.

Tim Tszyu did everything he could to lure Errol Spence Jr. to Saturday's fight in Sydney, Australia.Matt King via Getty ImagesThey compete atop an Amazon Prime Video pay-per-view on Sunday (Saturday in the United States) at the 21,000-capacity Afterpay Arena in the Sydney Olympic Park, Australia.

>For Spence, a 36-year-old pressure fighter from the southpaw stance, it is another fight on the road, having long become accustomed to competing away from America as an accomplished amateur and member of the 2012 Olympic squad that traveled to London, five years before winning his first professional world title in Sheffield, England.

>Spence flummoxes opponents through measured aggression, limiting their space and forcing them into uncomfortable exchanges. It's a style that saw him beat Kell Brook, Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia, among others, en route to becoming boxing’s unified WBC, WBA and IBF welterweight world champion back in 2022.

>But Spence hasn't fought since Terence Crawford finished him in the ninth round of an all-time great welterweight thrashing in the summer of 2023. It begs the question of why Spence is returning to the sport, and what version of himself he'll even bring to the ring.

>"What's the motivation behind it?" Tszyu openly wondered. "After the Crawford fight, he made his money and he got comfortable with life. Does he need to fight? Does he have the hunger? It's still a young man's sport."

>Tszyu continued: "I have to think it will be the best version of him. He's refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to go."

>

>Tszyu, too, is ready. But his preparations have more contrasts than Spence's, even if there are similarities as well.

>Yes, they've both suffered brutal losses. For Tszyu, it was three defeats in a four-fight run — to Sebastian Fundora (twice) and Bakhram Murtazaliaev. But since that poor run of form, Tszyu rebounded by beating Anthony Velazquez and Denis Nurja over the past eight months. Against Spence, he hopes to make it three wins on the spin.

>Tszyu, unlike Spence — who hasn't fought in three years — wasted no time returning to boxing after his disastrous defeats, competing just five to six months after each of the beatdowns inflicted upon him.

>Though he used to be known as “The Soul Taker,” it took a great deal of soul searching for him to come to terms with his losses. He even made the tough decision to part ways with Igor Goloubev, the longtime trainer who is also Tszyu’s uncle — the same coach who helped train Tszyu's Hall of Fame father, former undisputed super lightweight championKostya Tszyu, as well as his burgeoning boxer brother, Nikita.

>If Tszyu had been so willing to compromise to make the Spence fight happen, he also knew he couldn't afford compromise in his preparations.

>"Igor was cool," Tszyu said, regarding the parting of ways with a man who had been there throughout his life, from birth. "I had a couple losses, and it was about finding myself.

>"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. I learned a lot from him, but I was getting the same results, so I needed to change it up. And he respected that.

>"It was a very hard conversation — but it was needed."

Tim Tszyu has rebounded with back-to-back wins since his slump, including an April rout of Denis Nurja.Jeremy Ng via Getty ImagesAfter leaving Goloubev, Tszyu initially spent time with Pedro Diaz to "learn the Cuban style" in Miami. Now, though, he's back in his home country and training with the former three-weight champion, Jeff Fenech — an Aussie fighting legend.

>"I feel I have found myself again," he said. "It's been a hell of a ride and I'm only just getting started."

>One similarity Tszyu has with Spence is how much love they have from their people, and it only adds to the magnitude of this weekend’s event, he said.

>"A lot of people have won world titles and fought in crazy, cool places. But to come out to a roaring crowd where everyone is behind you, not many people have done that,” he said.

>"Going out here in Australia, you really feel the support. People behind you. You're not doing it for yourself, but a whole nation. It'll be one hell of a spectacle, a hell of a show.

>"It's never been done in Australia, these types of events, and I'm glad to be doing it with No Limit, together.

>"I'm here to make the best possible fight," Tszyu finished, weight be damned. "That's all I can do. Make a show. Put on a performance."

>Leverage, it turns out, was never the point. Booking the biggest fight Tszyu could find — something he's done throughout his career — was all that mattered.