Tim Tszyu’s comeback fight against Joey Spencer will occur on Saturday, April 5th, at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre in Newcastle, Australia. This is a must-win for the former WBO junior middleweight champion Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs) because he’s lost his last two fights to Bakhram Murtazaliev and Sebastian Fundora. Some fans believe the 29-year-old is washed.
Must-Win Fight
Obviously, if Tim loses to Spencer, that’s pretty much it. One can give Tszyu a pass for being known out of the water by Bakhram Murtazaliev in his last fight when he was facing an unbeaten IBF 154-lb champion, who the other top fighters in the division have been avoiding like the plague.
Even Terence Crawford chose not to mix it with him when he moved up to 154 last August. Tszyu didn’t know what he was getting himself into.
The event will be shown live on Prime Video at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Spencer (19-1, 11 KOs) is a capable fighter with just one loss on his resume, losing to Jose Ramos by a seventh-round knockout on March 25, 2023. Before that loss, Spencer had looked great, winning his first 16 fights, appearing destined to capture a world title. It was too big of a jump-up in class.
Spencer is a good comeback opponent for Tszyu to show that he’s back. It wouldn’t make sense for his promoters to throw him back in the deep end against one of the killers like Serhii Bohachuk, Israil Madrimov, or Charles Conwell.
“This is my redemption tour,” said Tszyu. “I’m coming back stronger, hungrier, and ready to prove a point. There’s no easing back in – no tune-up fights – just straight into the fire with a very, very good fighter in Joey Spencer. He’s a real fighter, a dangerous opponent, and exactly the kind of challenge I crave…I’m here to make a statement. If I have to walk through fire to get back on top, so be it. This is what I live for.”
Last Updated on 03/18/2025
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