Tim Tszyu Overwhelms Joey Spencer: Was This Enough Preparation for Top Junior Middleweights? Boxing Results

Tim Tszyu (25-2, 18 KOs) showed that he’s still an elite-level fighter, obliterating Joey Spencer (19-2, 11 KOs) by a fourth-round TKO on Saturday night in their junior middleweight headliner at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, in Newcastle, Australia.

Spencer, 24, made the same mistake tonight that he did in his loss to Jesus Ramos in 2023, and the former WBO junior middleweight champion Tszyu made him pay for it in the fourth round. Spencer shelled up near the ropes, which is the wrong thing to do against Tim.

Tszyu took advantage of it by unloading a flurry of shots, resulting in the referee stopping the contest after Spencer turned his back and walked away like he was quitting. In the final barrage, Tim couldn’t miss with his shots. Spencer was a sitting duck, standing stationary and covering up.

Tune-Up or Mismatch?

This was supposed to have been a more competitive fight to prepare Tszyu for a possible fight against Keith Thurman or one of the relevant big names at 154, like WBC and WBO champion Sebastian Fundora, or a rematch with IBF champ Bakhram Murtazaliev.

I don’t know that you can call this a proper tune-up for Tszyu to prepare him to face those kinds of talents. Spencer was so inept tonight that he didn’t appear to be a world-class-level fighter, and you have to believe that was the sole reason why Tszyu’s promoters picked him out. If he’s going to fight Fundora or Bakhram, he needs a real tune-up.

If Tszyu wants a rematch with Bakhram, he should focus on fighting Serhii Bohachuk next because he has the same kind of crushing power. He would be the ideal opponent to prepare Tim for a rematch with the IBF champ.

Spencer was fighting all wrong. He looked like he was trying to emulate Murtazaliev’s style of fighting, but he didn’t have the kind of power the Russian fighter had. If he could punch like him, it would have worked well tonight.

Tszyu fought the same exact way he did against Bakhram, but he didn’t have to worry about huge shots. Spencer was landing, but he didn’t have the kind of power that he needed to get away with his style.