Australia’s Tim Tszyu is in discussions for an April Australian blockbuster against American prospect Joey Spencer – with talks also underway for the former world champ to potentially headline in the United States later this year.
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Only four months after suffering his second straight world title defeat – a brutal stoppage loss against Russia’s IBF champ Bakhram Murtazaliev – Tszyu is now back in training and readying for a 2025 return.
Overnight, American boxing journalist Dan Rafael reported heavyweight US promoters PBC – who share a close relationship with Tszyu’s Australian promoter No Limit – plan for ‘The Soul Taker’ to make his anticipated return to the ring in April against Spencer (19-1, 11 KOs).
However, there have also been whispers suggesting Tszyu could be asked to wait for a showdown against American Keith Thurman, who fights popular Australian prospect Brock Jarvis at Sydney’s iconic Hordern Pavilion on March 12.
Already, Thurman has said he will happily headline against Tszyu later this year.
It is understood PBC are potentially keen to take that fight to the United States, prompting suggestions Tszyu may be forced to wait for Thurman.
However Rafael reported on Friday that Tszyu will instead headline his own Australian pay-per-view event a month after ‘One Time’ – and against 24-year-old Spencer.
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A Michigan native, Spencer’s only professional loss came against Jesus Ramos in 2023.
Since then, however, the American has earned three straight victories, with the most recent a majority decision win over Miguel Angel Hernandez in December.
Should both Tszyu and Thurman prove victorious in their respective fights, there is little doubting they will then collide in a showdown that was initially slated for Las Vegas earlier last year.
Speaking this week at a No Limit press conference to announce his shock Australian showcase, Thurman vowed to finish Jarvis within five rounds before then taking on Tszyu — who the former welterweight king now insists he could beat “one handed”.
The comments come almost a year to the day since he was sensationally ruled out of a T Mobile Arena headliner against the eldest Tszyu sibling, and after suffering a ruptured biceps in training.
The result was something of a sliding doors moment for Tszyu, who would then suffer a shock, and bloody, world title loss against the man who stepped in late against Thurman – towering US southpaw Sebastian Fundora.
Then in October, Tszyu would lose a second time against Murtazaliev.
Ironically, it was just days out from that second title fight in Orlando, Florida, where Tszyu and Thurman again crossed paths, with the latter working in US commentary for the fight.
After bumping into each other inside the fighter hotel prior to weigh-ins, the pair engaged in an entertaining back-and-forth where Tszyu suggested they had “unfinished business”, before Thurman responded by shouting “sign the paperwork, baby”.
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Despite having been out of the sport for three years, Thurman boasts an incredible resume that includes having never been beaten by anyone not named Manny Pacquiao.
His most recent win, in 2022, was also against reigning WBC welterweight champ Mario Barrios.
Should the American beat Jarvis in March, he says he would then happily sign on for a follow up Tszyu, either in Australia or the United States.
Quizzed this week on suggestions his shock return Down Under is part of a plan to fight both Jarvis and Tszyu this year, Thurman replied: “You guys want it and the promoters from that side of town are capable of making this happen.
“This is what it is.
“(But first) I’m going to remind people who Keith Thurman is by beating up some kangaroo.
“All you want me to do is beat up some kangaroo.
“I’m going to fly over there, I’m going to get me this kangaroo, then I’ll come back and get Tszyu if that’s the entertainment you guys want.
“You’ve had Roy Jones Jnr.
“You’ve had Manny Pacquiao.
“You’ve had some world class fighters come to your soil.
“Luckily for you, I’m what’s next.”
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Further on in the press conference, when pushed by Jarvis on his having withdrawn from fights, including the Tszyu headliner, he continued: “I’ve pulled out of two fights with two injuries.
“One was a whiplash against Shawn Porter. I gave him the fight and won.
“I should’ve just beat Tim Tszyu one handed.
“You all saw what happened (to him), it was a big mistake. You mess with the big fish, US – we run boxing. You don’t run boxing, we run boxing.
“I’ve been about this life, son.
“You already got slapped the first time you tried to meet a champion.
“And you’re about to get slapped one more time.
“So don’t worry kid, I’ll be happy to give you the whoppin’ your daddy never did.”
Later, he continued: “This is not about Brock.
“You guys love him, I’m coming to your city.
“But when Keith Thurman steps into that ring, it’s always The Thurman Show.
“And when I get there, you’re gonna know, it’s not about Brock.
“This is going to be one of the greatest comebacks in 2025.
“Time does not take away the ability of champions …”
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