Errol Spence Jr’s long-awaited return to boxing has undergone a late rule change, with the former welterweight champion set to fight Tim Tszyu at middleweight.
On 26 July, Spence will box Tszyu in the latter’s home country of Australia, as the pair square off at Sydney Olympic Park.
The bout was set to take place at a 158lb catchweight, but per Fox Sports Australia, Spence has succeeded in having that limit changed to 160lb. The change was confirmed to Fox by No Limit Boxing, one of the event’s promoters.
Tszyu, son of former world champion Kostya Tszyu, initially wished for the fight to occur at super-welterweight, where he held the WBO title from 2023 to 2024.
Instead, he and American Spence will both tip the scales at a career-heaviest weight on 26 July.
Tszyu, 31, told Fox: “Well, I took Sebastian Fundora on roughly a week’s notice, so you think I’m worried about a couple of pounds? No, I go for it.
“It doesn’t worry me, man. I think he’s starting to realise the disadvantage that is travelling all the way down here for a fight.
“And so, as a result, he’s now trying to convince himself he has a competitive edge. He’s trying to make himself feel better.”
The fight will be Spence’s first in three years, after he suffered the first loss of his professional career in July 2023.
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Spence, 36, was stopped in round seven by Terence Crawford in an undisputed welterweight-title fight, suffering three knockdowns as the bout – which was billed as a 50-50 – played out in a one-sided fashion. The result saw Spence lose the WBC, WBA and IBF belts, which Crawford added to his WBO title.
Meanwhile, Tszyu enters the fight against Spence with three professional losses on his record. Tszyu’s record stands at 27-3 (18 KOs), while Spence’s is 28-1 (22 KOs). Last time out, Tszyu outpointed Denis Nurja in April.
