Asked about Spence returning without a tune-up, Tszyu admitted he was surprised but said he plans to make the former champion regret that decision.
“To a certain extent.”
“Well, I know the type of fighter he is, he likes to take on hard challenges. But I want to give him that regret feeling that, you know, he should have taken a warm-up fight.”
Spence has not fought since suffering the first defeat of his professional career against Terence Crawford in July 2023. The one-sided ninth-round stoppage loss cost him the undisputed welterweight championship, and he has spent the past three years recovering before deciding to move up to junior middleweight.
Tszyu, meanwhile, has rebuilt his career after a turbulent spell. Following his defeat to Sebastian Fundora in March 2024, he bounced back with victories over Joseph Spencer, Anthony Velazquez and Denis Nurja before earning another major opportunity against Spence.
The Australian also dismissed the uncertainty surrounding which version of Spence will appear after such a long absence. Tszyu said he isn’t interested in guessing what version of Spence will show up. Instead, he wants to find out how much the former champion still wants boxing.
“I’m preparing for the best.”
“The biggest thing for me is to test his heart. How bad does he want it? When you’ve been there, done that in the sport, it’s sort of like, ‘Do I need to do this? Do I need to keep on going?’ That’s what I want to test when he starts talking to himself.”
The contest will take place at a 158-pound catchweight and represents one of the highest-profile fights of the year in Australia. The winner is expected to move into position for another major fight in one of boxing’s deepest divisions.
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