‘Very traumatic’: Tszyu’s US rival back from the dead
Darren Walton |
After surviving a “life and death” car accident, Errol Spence Jr reckons fighting Tim Tszyu will be like a walk in the park as he plots to end the Australian superstar’s career once and for all.
Spence (28-1, 22KOs) and Tszyu (27-3, 18KOs) will square off seven years after the American was ejected from his Ferrari in a horrific rollover crash in Texas.
A lingering eye injury and other residual trauma that severely degraded his ring sharpness contributed to his 2023 loss to boxing’s pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford and have played a major role in his extended periods of inactivity.
The former unified middleweight world champion admits he feels lucky just to be alive, let alone taking on Tszyu on Sunday in Sydney in a blockbuster being billed as the biggest fight ever in Australia.
“That’s something that a lot of people don’t come back from, especially they don’t even box. They don’t even do a profession. A lot of them don’t even wake up from that type of stuff,” Spence told AAP on Wednesday.
“So I’m definitely blessed to be here. I’m not going to let this opportunity pass me.”
The 2019 accident has had a profound impact on Spence, with the 36-year-old candidly conceding he now fights with more freedom in the ring.
“It was very traumatic. I never experienced anything that traumatic, so I can’t really scale it but, I mean, it was life and death,” Spence said.
“So this is fun for me. This is second nature. Boxing is like me going to the bathroom and having to take a piss. Like, it’s something that I do.
“I don’t second guess if that’s why I can come back and not worry about where I’ll fight or who I’ll fight and just come out there and fight.
“As long as I’m 100 per cent healthy, or close to it, then I’m putting on the show.”
Needing to tweak his style because of his injuries, Spence likens himself to NBA legend Vince Carter, the 2000 Sydney Olympics gold medallist and so-called greatest clutch dunker of all time.
Chronic left knee patellar tendonitis, commonly known as “jumper’s knee”, forced Carter to find new tricks after his dunking skills waned.
“I don’t feel like I’m the same person, but I do feel like I’m crazy. I’ve definitely had to adjust,” he said.
“Like Vince Carter, he was a huge dunker. So he had to adjust, do things like that to stay in the league.
“He had to learn how to shoot jump shots and learn to do different things because he couldn’t just do the same thing over and over because he didn’t have a hops like he used to anymore.
“So, yeah, I definitely had to adjust.”
Spence is fighting for the first time since suffering his first and only defeat – to Crawford – in Las Vegas three years ago.
Tszyu, though, is refusing to underestimate the fallen champion, noting how Spence still beat countryman Danny Garcia and classy Cuban Yordenis Ugas in 2020 and 2022 respectively to twice retain his WBC and IBF belts.
“Look, he has been the same fighter after his accident,” Tszyu said, adding he and new trainer, Australian legend Jeff Fenech, had carefully studied replays of Crawford’s victory over Spence.
“That’s a fight a lot of people have watched over and over again because it’s Crawford’s most dominating performance.
“So Jeff allowed me to. We sat down and we watched tapes, and it’s been interesting.”
AAP