Tim Tszyu has done his best to live out his own career far beyond that led by his Hall of Fame father.

For now, there remains at least one parallel – having to overcome a knockout defeat.

The younger Tszyu, 24-2 (17 KOs), is a bit more behind the eight-ball, having suffered back-to-back losses in a forgettable 2024. He began the year unbeaten and with the WBO junior-middleweight title. It ended with a disastrous third-round knockout by IBF titlist Bakhram Murtazliev, 23-0 (17 KOs) in October in Orlando, Florida.

It was a rare night in his career when Kostya Tszyu, Tim’s father, was ringside and it could not have gone any worse. But it did provide at least one takeaway for the second-generation boxer.

“He just sort of put it back to his career,” Tszyu told BoxingScene of the brief exchange they had in the aftermath. “This should be the wake-up call that I needed.” 

The new journey for the 30-year-old Tszyu begins with a 10-round showdown versus Joey Spencer, 19-1 (11 KOs). Their bout tops a PBC on Prime Video stream on Saturday, beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET from Newcastle Entertainment Centre in Newcastle, Australia. 

The venue hosted many fight nights for Kostya Tszyu, Tim’s father, who had his own redemption tour. His first junior-welterweight title reign ended in a stunning, 10th-round stoppage by Vince Phillips in May 1997. He was generally of the boogeyman mold prior to that point, but humanized that night in Atlantic City, New Jersey. 

A 13-fight win-streak followed, including back-to-back fights in Australia. The latter of the two was a first-round knockout of Calvin Grove in what marked his sixth and final appearance at the very venue that will house Saturday’s main event. 

A slaughtering of iron-chinned Miguel Angel Gonzalez in August 1999 officially launched his second title reign. From there, the elder Tszyu fully unified the junior-welterweight division titles and carved out a legacy that was honored with enshrinement into the International Boxing Hall of Fame class of 2011. 

Tim Tszyu is officially in the second act of his career. He hoped to have started after his 12-round, split decision defeat by Sebastian Fundora, 22-1-1 (14 KOs) in March 2024. 

There was no shame in that setback. Fundora was brought in on 11 days’ notice and — as a 6’5 ½” southpaw — represented the opposite of former unified welterweight titlist Keith Thurman, Tszyu’s originally scheduled opponent. 

An elbow to the forehead caused a horrific cut with which Tszyu had to contend for more than 10 rounds through fight’s end. He came out with his first defeat and the end of his WBO title reign, but still regarded among the world’s best junior middleweights. 

That shine was violently snatched in his disastrous turn against Murtazaliev. 

Tszyu entered as a confident challenger but never had a chance to get untracked. Their PBC on Prime headliner saw Murtazaliev jump out to an early lead and only grow stronger in their truncated affair. Tszyu was floored four times before the fight was mercifully halted just prior to the final minute of the third round.

It was a night where everything went wrong, though the good news for Tszyu is that he could attribute it to identifiable and correctable issues. 

“Change was needed,” Tszyu acknowledged. “It’s all about the inches of boxing and looking at them one inch at a time; being able to measure it all out.

“I just need to be a bit smarter. I have a good boxing IQ but sometimes I try too much to rely on my talent, instead, rather than the IQ. If I’m in there analyzing you, it’s a different game.”

Despite the home game, Tszyu won’t have his father at ringside. It’s not out of anger; rather the norm for what had been in his career prior to the awful year that was. 

The other big difference headed into this fight is the ability to focus on the task at hand. 

Tszyu had lofty dreams of becoming undisputed champion. To his credit, he was on the doorstep until then-fully unified king Jermell Charlo withdrew from their January 2023 championship fight due to injury and never rescheduled. 

Tszyu made the most of the moment by picking up the WBO belt and emerging as the division’s top fighter in Charlo’s absence. That changed with the Fundora fight; then his contender status was called into question after the loss to Murtazaliev. 

Step one now is to remind the world that he is still him, hence the importance to secure a stiff challenge in the 25-year-old Spencer and not some shopworn rollover. 

“I needed a good opponent,” stated Tszyu. “I’m never in for easy fights. I’m always up for a real fight and this is the guy for it.” 

The temperature in the room throughout fight week suggests the old Tszyu could emerge at any moment. At some point in the fight, that will be the plan — it just can’t be his only trick once the bell sounds. 

“It’s all about stages,” Tszyu explained. “You got to come out very smart and then understand when the dog has to come out. That’s when he comes out. 

“I just have to be a bit more strategic. That should be the difference.”

Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.