Shawn Porter has assessed whether his former opponent, Errol Spence Jr, is entering a stylistically-favourable showdown against Tim Tszyu.
The two former world champions will collide at Sydney’s Afterpay Arena this Saturday, headlining arguably the biggest event in Australian boxing history.
Originally, it was decided that they would lock horns at a catchweight of 158lbs, only for Spence to request an additional 2lbs following his three years of inactivity.
Now gearing up to face Tszyu at middleweight, the American has not fought since getting stopped by Terence Crawford in round nine of their undisputed welterweight encounter.
Back then, many felt Spence had outgrown the 147lb division, yet few would have expected him to jump straight up to 160lbs.
Tszyu, meanwhile, is a natural super-welterweight, having previously defeated Brian Mendoza to claim the WBO strap at 154lbs.
Since that title-winning triumph in 2023, though, the 31-year-old has suffered two defeats against Sebastian Fundora and one particularly brutal stoppage loss to Bakhram Murtazaliev.
But while it seems that both fighters have a point to prove and are evenly matched, Porter has suggested on his podcast that Spence could take advantage of Tszyu’s lack of movement.
“This fight, stylistically, is better for [Spence] than it is for Tim Tszyu. It’s as simple as that.
“Tim, for me, is too flat-footed. When you’re flat-footed, that takes away from your hand speed.
“He likes to punch in combinations but, along with [doing that], he’s always kept his head on [centreline].”
Porter gave a strong account of himself when he fought Spence in 2019, only for ‘The Truth’ to win by split decision after scoring an 11th-round knockdown.
