‘Too much dog’ Tim Tszyu is learning to fight smart

The first defeat meant the loss of his junior-middleweight world title, but the second defeat probably hurt Tim Tszyu even worse.

That’s because Tszyu’s first loss, via split decision against Sebastian Fundora in March 2025 with another vacant world title also on the line, involved him suffering a bad cut early on from an accidental elbow, and Tszyu fighting through lots of bleeding and obscured vision for the remaining 10 rounds.

But when Tszyu, 30, tried to bounce back in October, he was instead bounced off the canvas several times before being stopped by the IBF titleholder Bakhram Murtazaliev in the third round.

“I realized I’m a bit too much of a dog at times, maybe too early, so things have to be a bit smarter, more methodical,” Tszyu, 24-2 (17 KOs), said when discussing his April 6 bout with the 24-year-old Joey Spencer, 19-1 (11 KOs).

The part of Australia’s Tszyu that feels like Iron Man can still be unleashed, he said, but just at the right time.

“Every fighter is dangerous, especially at this level,” Tszyu said. “I just got to be aware of it and just be smart.”

Tszyu said he’s rewatched the losses to Fundora and Murtazaliev from a technical point of view, analyzing his flaws and mistakes so he can work on improving them. What did he learn? 

“Don’t do what I did last time,” he said. “Maybe I’ll do the same thing; it’s just I have to not get knocked out. We’ll see what happens.”

Tszyu, who fights Spencer at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre in Newcastle, Australia, also said he’d like rematches with the two men who beat him. But he added the fighter’s usual cliche about being focused solely on what’s directly ahead.

“I want this fight first, Joey Spencer,” Tszyu said. “I’m not overlooking anyone. This is my world-title fight for me, right now. This is the only thing in my life right now, is this fight.”