Spence Jr. loses comeback to Tszyu, announces retirement

Tim Tszyu defeated Errol Spence Jr. by unanimous decision in a 12-round middleweight bout Saturday at Afterpay Arena in Sydney. Per ESPN, the judges' scorecards read 118-110, 117-111, and 117-111, all favoring Tszyu. Spence Jr., 36 years old and a future Hall of Famer, had not fought since his loss to Terence Crawford three years earlier, according to ESPN.

Spence Jr. announced he will retire from boxing for a second time after the bout. When asked if the loss was the end of the road for his career, Spence said, per ESPN, "I think yeah, for sure." He later elaborated: "I've got my faculties intact. My money is good at working for itself. Everything's good, man. I've got a beautiful family, and I thank God I'm gracious to leave this sport with my faculties intact and my family still by my side."

Spence Jr., a former unified welterweight champion, showed flashes of skill during the fight. According to ESPN's reporting, he successfully targeted Tszyu's body throughout the bout. However, as the fight progressed into the latter rounds, Spence Jr. struggled to apply prolonged pressure and appeared uncharacteristically fatigued. ESPN noted that his three-year layoff from the sport was evident throughout the contest.

Tszyu, a former WBO junior middleweight titlist, grew in confidence and power as the rounds advanced. Per ESPN, he was on the attack consistently and looked to target Spence Jr.'s chin. Tszyu picked up his third consecutive victory with the win, according to ESPN. He had previously suffered tough losses to Sebastian Fundora (twice) and Bakhram Murtazaliev while rebuilding his career, per ESPN's reporting. Tszyu said after the bout, per ESPN: "I'd love to fight for a title. That's what I'm aiming for. But I've got to say beating a great like Errol Spence tops a world title."

The Sydney card was disrupted by two undercard cancellations. Jermall Charlo was slated to face Koen Mazoudier but was denied an Australian visa earlier this month, according to ESPN. Stephen Fulton Jr. was scheduled to fight Liam Wilson in a world-title eliminator but failed to make weight, per ESPN. Other bouts on the card saw mixed results: Paulo Aokuso of Australia scored a 10th-round knockout against Luis Antonio Tejeda of the Dominican Republic to capture the vacant IBF Pan Pacific light heavyweight title, per ESPN. Rising Australian Callum Peters won a seventh-round stoppage of Argentina's Ivan Ricardo Actis in a middleweight bout, and Ahmad Reda defeated Paul Fleming in an all-Australian lightweight bout that was promoted to co-main status, according to ESPN.