SYDNEY, Australia – No Limit need to discuss their fight schedule with broadcasters Fox Sport before they can proceed with plans to match the junior middleweights Tim Tszyu and Errol Spence.
Their second pay-per-view contest in under a month with Main Event – Fox Sports’ pay-per-view arm – ended with the frustration of an unconvincing cut suffered by Michael Zerafa leading to his fight with Nikita Tszyu being waved over and a no contest declared.
Tszyu-Zerafa had come shortly after they promoted Tim Tszyu’s victory over Anthony Velazquez. It had also had Liam Paro-Paddy Donovan scheduled for the undercard until illness forced Donovan to withdraw.
That Paro is instead nearing a fight with the IBF welterweight champion Lewis Crocker is unquestionably positive both in his career and in the wider picture of No Limit and Fox Sports. It has, however, left the promoter and broadcaster with a potential scheduling complication.
Paro, like each of the Tszyus, is considered a pay-per-view fighter in Australia, and given that he and Crocker are expected to fight in either March or April – when Tszyu-Spence had been targeted for and when Nikita Tszyu could perhaps again be ready to fight – the risk of staging three pay-per-views in quick succession is one that they are likely to be unwilling to take.
“There’s always fights to be made for Tim, like Errol Spence, but there’s a lot you’ve got to go through to get to that point,” No Limit’s Matt Rose told BoxingScene. “The main focus is to continue to keep Tim active – and he’s ready to fight. He come through the last fight really well.
“We’re really keen – there’s been a mention of dates. If he gets going again by March, April, it’d be good. But, also, this predicament we’re in with Nikita right now – he hasn’t really had a fight in that period of time. There’s a few things to play out, I think. But do I like the Spence fight? It’s a great fight; it’s a great name. It’s a legacy-type fight, so if we’re able to achieve that that’d be fantastic, but at this stage there’s still a fair bit to happen for that to even get close.
“Nikita’s very fresh. He’s only had three rounds in 18 months. There’s a bit going around in terms of planning; we’re sitting down with Fox Sports this week to look at some dates, and how, potentially, cards could check up.
“It is very tough. That’s why we’re sitting down and trying to strategically plan how that could play out, because the market in Australia – we’ve got to space it out a little bit. Everyone’s [Paro and the Tszyus] sort of diving into one moment at the moment. For us, it’s just a matter of working out what happens in the purse bids, where Tim’s at in terms of dates, and where Nikita is. I haven’t actually spoken to Nikita and his team yet.”
The purse bids to which Rose was referring are those for Crocker-Paro and for the WBO middleweight title eliminator between England’s Denzel Bentley and Endry Saavedra, the Venezuelan No Limit also promote.
On Friday Nikita Tszyu confirmed that he has no intention of exploring a future date with Zerafa – another Australian contracted to No Limit – which potentially makes it even likelier that, given his inexperience, he will step back down in class.
“I’m bitterly disappointed for Nikita,” said Rose. “He trained really hard – he trained five months for that fight, so for it to play out like it did, it’s disappointing for him. It was his moment. I’m keen for him to get back in the ring as soon as possible – as soon as he’s ready.
“At this stage he’s on a break. I’m not sure how quick he’ll be able to return, but hopefully it’s not too long.”
