Shakur Stevenson has maintained his prediction for Errol Spence Jr vs Tim Tszyu, believing that one man will be too “mentally tough” for the other.
The two former world champions will collide in Australia on July 25, meeting at a catchweight of 158lbs to accommodate Spence’s inactivity.
Despite Tszyu pushing for a super-welterweight contest, his opponent clearly felt an extra 4lbs was appropriate following his three-year layoff.
This lengthy hiatus came after Spence suffered a ninth-round stoppage defeat to Terence Crawford, who became the undisputed king at 147lbs in surprisingly one-sided fashion.
Prior to that, Spence had claimed his WBC, IBF and WBA titles with respective victories over Shawn Porter, Kell Brook and Yordenis Ugas, though a move up in weight has always seemed inevitable.
Now, the 36-year-old looks to reignite his career against Tszyu, who comes off two points victories following his stoppage defeat to Sebastian Fundora last July.
While their rematch ended in round seven, Tszyu had shown tremendous grit against Fundora in 2024, only to lose his WBO title by split decision.
The Australian would then suffer a third-round stoppage defeat to Bakhram Murtazaliev later that year, with four-division world champion Stevenson telling All The Smoke Fight that he feels Spence is a level above.
“I think [Spence] gonna do good. I wish Errol the best; I hope Errol goes in there and beats Tim Tszyu up.
“I’m an Errol Spence fan; I was cool with Errol Spence before that [Crawford] fight. I know Errol is mentally tough – Errol is a dog when it comes to fighting, so I don’t think Tim Tszyu can beat him.”
Stevenson has previously suggested that Tszyu could get “destroyed” by Spence, believing the 31-year-old’s style is tailor-made for ‘The Truth’.
