The return to the ring of an unrecognizable Errol Spence Jr. (28-2-0, 22 KOs), exactly three years after the devastating defeat he suffered at the hands of Terence Crawford, appears to have convinced the former unified welterweight champion to leave the sport for good. Errol’s comeback fight, contested (very unwisely) at middleweight for the occasion, ended with a unanimous decision loss to Tim Tszyu. All three judges scored the bout in favor of the Australian fighter, with scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111.
Spence looked like a shadow of the boxer he once was: awkward, lacking sharpness, intimidated by Tim’s constant forward pressure and unable to halt his advance. Errol’s downward trajectory, which began on a tragic night when he nearly lost his life in a horrific car accident and continued with the crushing defeat against Crawford in 2023, appeared to reach its lowest point last night, with a performance far removed from the standards he had accustomed fans to. The decision — in this writer’s opinion, completely reckless and devoid of logic — to move up to middleweight after an entire career at welterweight and after 36 months away from the ring only further and unnecessarily increased the difficulty of a comeback that already looked extremely challenging on paper.
Across the ring, Tim Tszyu (28-3, 18 KOs), former super-welterweight titleholder and son of legendary fighter Kostya Tszyu, was looking to rebuild his reputation and relaunch his career after brutal defeats against Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev, followed by a series of less compelling performances.
From the opening bell, Tim marched forward “hunting” Spence, and the man who was once the ultimate predator suddenly found himself forced into the role of the “prey,” exposing all of his current limitations.
In the opening round, Tszyu found a gap through the American’s guard with a short right hand, followed shortly afterward by an uppercut that caught Spence completely off balance. Errol, accustomed to closing the distance, working the body and breaking opponents down over time, suddenly found himself in the same position as many of his former opponents, desperately trying to stop the relentless and aggressive advance of the Australian.
From his southpaw stance, Spence attempted to work with his jab and straight lefts to the body and head, but his punches appeared to lack power and therefore had limited effect. Despite some good body work from the American, Tszyu consistently looked like the more dangerous fighter, and every right hand from the Australian snapped back the head of the unfortunate Spence, highlighting the difference in impact between the two men’s punches.
Errol had always had a tendency to remain in the pocket after throwing, but what became even more evident throughout the fight was his inability to recover his positioning. The former “Boogey Man,” for years the nightmare of an entire division, was repeatedly caught off balance, out of position, with his guard low and with the look of a fighter who knew he no longer inspired the same fear he once did.
There were still some good moments from the American, particularly with his straight left hand, but when compared with the relentless pressure and sustained offense with which he used to break opponents down, the signs of decline were impossible to ignore. Errol also proved unable to capitalize on his greater reach or exploit some of Tszyu’s weaknesses, which had been clearly exposed by Fundora and Murtazaliev: a chin that is far from rock solid, but above all a defense that is anything but airtight and a tendency to fight almost exclusively in a straight line in front of his opponent.
In the second half of the fight, Tszyu’s superior freshness and physical size began to take over. The Australian started effectively countering Spence, repeatedly landing with the left hook and the counter right hand.
Hounded relentlessly by Tszyu, Errol tried to survive by constantly initiating clinches, allowing himself brief moments of recovery and disrupting his opponent’s rhythm. However, in the final rounds, Spence’s offensive output faded significantly, allowing Tszyu to build a commanding lead on the judges’ scorecards.
After twelve rounds, the verdict merely confirmed what had been evident throughout the contest: a superiority that was never seriously questioned, with Tszyu earning a unanimous decision victory.
Following the announcement of the result, Errol Spence Jr. officially announced his decision to end his boxing career:
“It was a good fight. Congratulations to Tim, he put on an excellent performance. This fight gave me a lot of answers about myself. Now it’s time to go home, spend time with my family and begin a new chapter of my life. I thank God that I can leave this sport healthy and with my loved ones by my side.”
With Errol Spence Jr.’s retirement and Bud Crawford’s equally recent departure from the sport, a chapter has effectively come to an end — the era of the great welterweights who defined and elevated the division over the past 20 years. One only has to think of those two fighters, along with Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia: boxers capable of producing elite-level contests and unforgettable nights.
Tim Tszyu, for his part, reflected on his performance by emphasizing the quality of his opponent and clarifying his intentions regarding his future at middleweight:
“Middleweight is my new division and I feel very strong. I spent many sleepless nights thinking about the responsibility of facing a legend like Spence. Now I understand even better why he was one of the greatest fighters of his era.”