Errol Spence Makes Long-Awaited Return to Face Tim Tszyu in Sydney Showdown

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  Jake MichaelsJul 26, 2026, 12:54 AM ET

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  Jake Michaels is a Senior Writer who has worked at ESPN for 13 years. He writes on a range of sports in Australia and around the world, covering everything from AFL to boxing to tennis. He also covers the Olympic Games, as well as athletics and swimming world championships.

Errol Spence Jr., a future Hall of Famer, marks his long-awaited comeback to the ring on Sunday afternoon (Saturday evening ET) at Afterpay Arena in Sydney, where he will face Australian star and former world champion Tim Tszyu in one of the most anticipated bouts ever held in Australia.

Spence enters the fight with a record of 28-1, including 22 knockouts, having not competed since his loss to Terence Crawford in Las Vegas three years ago. Tszyu, now 27-3 with 18 knockouts, is working to rebuild his career after a disappointing stretch of three losses in four fights that dropped him in the junior middleweight rankings. He has since bounced back with consecutive unanimous-decision victories over Anthony Velazquez and Denis Nurja.

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Originally scheduled for a catchweight bout, the fighters will now compete at middleweight after Spence successfully lobbied to raise the limit from 158 to 160 pounds—a shift that represents a two-division jump for the former undisputed welterweight champion.

The winner is poised to re-enter the world title picture, although future opponents and a timeline have yet to be determined.

The co-main encounter on the card has been plagued by setbacks. Jermall Charlo was originally slated to face Koen Mazoudier, but the bout was canceled after Charlo was unable to secure an Australian visa.

The opening created by that cancellation was filled by a world title eliminator between Stephen Fulton Jr. and Liam Wilson, though the contest was scrapped on Saturday morning when Fulton came in 6.5 pounds over the limit. This marks the second consecutive fight in which Fulton has missed weight.

Results from Errol Spence vs. Tim Tszyu card:

• Errol Spence (28-2) def. by Tim Tszyu (28-3) by unanimous decision

• Paul Fleming (28-2-2) def. by Ahmad Reda (9-0) by unanimous decision

• Callum Peters (8-0) def. Ivan Ricardo Actis (13-1-1) by 7th-round TKO

• Paulo Aokuso (11-0) def. Luis Antonio Tejeda (12-1-1) by 10th-round KO for IBF Pan Pacific light heavyweight title

• Tina Rahimi (1-0) def. Sacha Ryan Dryden (2-3) by unanimous decision

• Ike Pluto def. by Brandon Grach by unanimous decision

For live updates, refer to ESPN’s live blog below.

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