Tim Tszyu claimed the biggest scalp of his career on Sunday, but across the United States much of the reaction has centred less on the Australian’s performance and more on the finish to Errol Spence Jnr’s career.
The former WBO junior middleweight world champion controlled much of the 12-round middleweight blockbuster at Sydney’s Afterpay Arena, overpowering the American superstar in his first fight since a damaging defeat to Terence Crawford three years ago.
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After judges returned scorecards of 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111, Spence confirmed it would be the final fight of his celebrated career.
If there was one theme that dominated the American reaction, it was Spence’s balance early in the fight.
“It never looked like Errol had his legs under him,” said Paulie Malignaggi.
“He looked shaky on his legs. Like giraffe legs.
“When he would throw that back hand he would fall in – so much sometimes that his back leg would come off the ground.”
Former world champ Chris Algieri, who went five rounds with Spence in 2016, echoed those sentiments.
Having experienced the American’s pressure firsthand, Algieri said Sunday’s version looked nothing like The Big Fish he knew.
“His legs looked like they were cast in iron,” Algierri said on the Inside Boxing podcast.
“He could not move his legs. He had no balance at any point during the fight. There was no in and out, just heavy-footed.”
Top trainer and analyst Stephen “Breadman” Edwards also noted Spence’s footwork.
“I noticed he didn’t have the same snap on his punches, and that comes from your legs,” he told MillCity Boxing.
“It comes from your explosiveness… If your legs are not the same, your power will not be the same. Try and hit the heavy bag on one foot.”
Long-time boxing reporter Sean Zittel went a step further, arguing Sunday’s performance was simply the continuation of a decline he’s been seeing for years.
Zittel said Spence’s balance had been going downhill since his 2022 victory over Yordenis Ugas.
“The truth is that his balance was off from the Ugas fight,” Zittel said on his YouTube channel.
“Errol Spence’s peak was around the Lamont Peterson fight, and the Mikey Garcia fight was his peak – and I think he got progressively worse every fight since then.”
Yet while few disputed Tszyu deserved the biggest win of his career, not everyone agreed with the judges’ margins.
Veteran boxing writer Dan Rafael had Spence ahead after seven rounds and later argued the official scorecards were wider than he had the fight, despite agreeing Tszyu was the rightful winner.
The Ring mag’s Dougie Fischer also saw a tighter contest than the judges, while boxing writer Matthew Aguilar had it tighter with Tszyu winning 115-113.
While much of the post fight chat has centred on Spence’s decline, the American verdict on ‘The Phoenix’ himself was a bit more restrained.
“There was a question mark about Tim being a boss in the ring,” said Malignaggi.
“I thought we saw a little bit more of that (confidence) in tonight’s fight.
“It still isn’t a Tim who looked perfect or looked at his best when he beat Tony Harrison or Gausha.
“But at least it was a step in the right direction.”
Algieri agreed.
“I was not overly impressed,” he said.
“I think he could have stepped on the gas a lot more. I think there was more he could have done.
“He did look explosive. He did look physically strong.
“But still gun-shy.
“I remember Tim coming up, I was a big fan. He was a seek and destroy guy. He was on you and he carried up his attack…
“I haven’t seen that guy in years.”
The former world champ believes the next step under Jeff Fenech is obvious – increase the work rate.
And that’s something the Marrickville Mauler knows all about.
“I think Fenech is going to tell him that we need to work more,” he said.
“We need you to be busier.
“Fenech was chewing his ass out every round – and I get it.
“Whenever he let his hands go, Errol was floundering.
“He just didn’t do enough.”
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Despite the mixed reviews, Hall of Famer Antonio Tarver believes Tszyu has earned his chance to fight for a world title at middleweight.
Rather than dwell on what the Aussie didn’t do against Spence, Tarver said he wanted to see Tszyu matched with WBA champion Erislandy Lara next.
“Lara’s a bad boy,” he said on TarversTake.
“He’s got that technique down, but father time is undefeated.
“I don’t know at his age though…
“I’ll be looking forward to that Tim Tszyu and Lara fight. Lara needs some action. He’s been out way too long. We need these guys active.”