Joey Spencer says he’s focused on watching former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu’s successes rather than his failures in preparing for their 10-round fight for their event that will be shown this Saturday, April 5th, beginning at 10 pm ET /7 pm PT at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Broadmeadow, Newcastle.
The Power Factor
Spencer (19-1, 11 KOs) is the underdog going in, but he has the type of power in his right hand that could cause Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs) similar problems as his last opponent, IBF 154-lb champion Bakhram Murtazaliev. The 24-year-old Spencer doesn’t punch with his left the way that Murtazaliev does, but his right hand is arguably better than his.
We know whether Tszyu has recovered from the third-round knockout loss he sustained against Bakhram on October 19th last year in Orlando, Florida. That’s less than six months ago, which may not be enough time for Tim to have shaken off the effects of his knockout loss. Murtazaliev dropped him four times in that fight and would have continued to do so if he hadn’t been pulled out of the contest.
“I watch his successes. I watch his fights that he’s done the best against, not the ones he’s done the worst against. That’s what I try to prepare for,” said Joey Spencer to The Punch Podcast, talking about what he’s focused on when watching Tim Tszyu’s fights in preparing for their clash on April 6th in Australia.
It would be pointless for Spencer to watch Tszyu’s loss to Murtazaliev because he fights entirely different than him, and he couldn’t be able to replicate the powerful left hooks that he repeatedly dropped Tim with. Watching Tszyu’s loss to the 6’5 1/2″ Sebastian Fundora wouldn’t help either because the 5’10” Spencer doesn’t have the height or the work rate that Fundora has.
“I have no idea. I’m not inside his head. I don’t know what he’s coming with. All I can do is focus on myself and how I respond,” said Spencer when asked about what he saw in the eyes of Tszyu during their face-off. “We’ll see how he responds, too, to what I do to him. I’ve been here for a while. I feel good. I’m comfortable, I’m at peace, and I’m ready to get in the ring. I don’t predict. I believe with all my heart that it’s my time.
“I’m super pumped. I’m looking forward to ending this trip with great success. Nothing. Just an opponent ready to fight just like I am. We’re itching to get in there. So, I think we feel pretty similarly about that.
The fight can’t come soon enough at this point. As a fighter, you get tired of all the pre-stuff, and you can’t wait to get in there. That’s where I’m at and I’m sure that’s where he’s at too,” said Spencer.
