Errol Spence, the former three-belt welterweight champion, is ending a long period of inactivity with a very tough fight, a road assignment vs. former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu. The two men went face to face on Saturday at a press conference to officially announce the bout, which will headline a PBC pay-per-view event on Saturday, July 25th (U.S. date and time). It will take place in Tszyu's native Australia (no further venue information provided), with Spence returning to the ring from a nearly three-year layoff at a higher weight class. Spence's last fight was his first loss, to a generational great, Terence Crawford. Here is what Spence had to say at the press conference:
“Tszyu has been dismissive of me. He’s saying his little things about how he’s gonna retire me. At the end of the day, it’s a war. He’s coming to retire me and take my name. I’m coming to conquer his country. I’ll shake his hand after the fight, but right now it’s game time.
“I’ve got more energy and I’m gonna be mentally and physically better. I know why people will say what they’re gonna say, and I’d say the same if I was on the outside. But we’re gonna be putting on a good show.
“I’m always looking for a high and that’s why I wanted to go into a foreign territory with all these fans going against me. That’s gonna be a great moment.
“Of course there’s a little difficulty getting a rhythm down working with Ronnie Shields for the first time, but once you get that down, everything is good from that point. I feel like a kid again in school learning new tricks of the trade.
“There’s a first time for everything. I’m definitely looking forward to beating him in Australia and disappointing all those people.
“I’m taking it one fight at a time. I’m not mapping out anything. I’m going with the flow and enjoying the whole process. You have to live in the moment.
“I feel mentally sharper right now. This layoff gave me time to reflect a lot and recover. I’ve been boxing for a long time at the top level, ever since the amateurs. I needed this break. Even after my car accident, I never took a break. After the eye injury they told me I couldn’t work out, but I was still walking eight to 10 miles a day trying to keep my weight down. I enjoyed this layoff, because it gave me a lot of clarity. I feel rejuvenated.
“There’s no knock on Tszyu for losing to Sebastian Fundora. Fundora would be a hard opponent for anybody. He’s so tall and now he’s using his distance and his range. Tszyu put on a hard fight and never gave up.”
