Charlo was to potentially be replaced by 45-year-old former champion.
This Saturday, we will see the return of Errol Spence Jr., the former long-reigning super-welterweight force whose career was seemingly almost ended because of a brutal beating at the hands of Terence Crawford three years ago.
So one-sided was the fight, in fact, that Spence’s aura was shattered entirely. Once a man who owned a spot in the top ten of the world’s pound-for-pound list, there were quickly calls for his retirement after the fight just because of how unexpectedly convincing Crawford’s triumph was.
For a while, it appeared that Spence would not return, providing for a ring tenure that would seemingly end on a whimper.
However, rumours began circulating regarding Spence’s potential next professional step, with a world title challenge against Sebastian Fundora and an all-Texan clash against Vergil Ortiz Jr. being discussed.
However, neither bout would come to fruition. After much speculation, though, a bout against Tim Tszyu was finally made official.
Tszyu is himself a former world champion, one who faced a run of losses that considerably dented his reputation. It started with a loss to Sebastian Fundora, a competitive one that featured a terrible cut that impacted Tszyu’s performance.
But after that, he suffered a horrid defeat to Bakhram Murtazaliev, then a convincing rematch beating at the hands of Fundora.
Getting back on track with a small run of wins, Tszyu is certainly the better prepared of the two in his fight with Spence.
On the undercard, though, Jermall Charlo was set to make his own return against Koen Mazoudier, but the American was prevented from travelling to Australia due to visa issues.
Hoping to replace him, 45-year-old former two-weight world champion Paulie Malignaggi was prepared to make the flight, stating to BoxingScene, “Unless something dramatic happens before I board this flight, it’s not happening, but it was being discussed to potentially happen.”
Throughout his career, Malignaggi fought the likes of Ricky Hatton and Adrien Broner, but a sudden return would have been quite a big surprise.
Want to get the latest boxing news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.
