Tim Tszyu silences critics with brutal stoppage of Joey Spencer to remain undefeated in Newcastle

Tim Tszyu is back! After back-to-back losses, the Australian boxing phenom answered his critics in the most brutal fashion, forcing Joey Spencer’s team to throw in the towel.

“I’m back, baby!”

Those were Tim Tszyu’s first words after silencing the doubters and saving his career with a brutal beating of Joey Spencer in Newcastle.

With the weight of the world on his shoulders six months after his shock one-sided defeat to Bakhram Murtazaliev, Tim Tszyu battered ‘The Small Town Soldier’, forcing Spencer’s father, Jason, to throw in the towel in the fourth round.

While Spencer left the ring with a badly bruised right eye, and swelling over his left, Tszyu celebrated his comeback, career-saving victory unscathed.

A former two-time prospect of the year, Spencer was no pushover, and stepped through the ropes intent on ending Tszyu’s career.

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But after two nervy opening rounds, Tszyu came to life in the third, and put on a systematic destruction of Spencer.

Tszyu tried to brush off the pressure he felt leading into the fight, but admitted to some nerves.

“Nah, no pressure, I’m happy,” he said before breaking into laughter. “Actually, yeah, there was a bit of pressure.

“I couldn’t do a third consecutive loss.

“I hope I can teach people that if they drop and go on the floor, if shit hits the fan, you can always rise back up and get back to the top.”

Asked the hardest part of his comeback, Tszyu pointed to the many sceptics after back-to-back losses in 2024.

Tim Tszyu rearranges Joey Spencer’s face. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

“The critics. They’re always going to be there,” he said. “I proved it to everyone in the world: I’m back, baby. I’m back.

“I learned from my mistakes. You don’t go in like a hothead from the first round. I learned my lesson, I had one hell of an opponent in Joey Spencer.

“He’s going to have plenty more opportunities in the future.”

Unmarked and uninjured, Tszyu now has a fight with Keith Thurman scheduled for July on the Gold Coast.

Thurman scored a third round knockout of Brock Jarvis in Sydney last month and says he’ll return to Australia for a fight with Tszyu.

The Soul Taker is only too keen to make that bout happen.

“Sign the contract, big boy. Sign the contract,” he said. “If the fans want a mega-show in Australia, the boys at No Limit know who to contact and we’ll do a big show here.”

After dramas over the ringside judges clouded fight week, there was one last pre-fight controversy as Team Spencer ripped out a Main Event camera in their dressing room as he prepared to put his gloves on.

There was no drama by fight time though, Tszyu getting through two quiet opening frames with little trouble and less risk.

Having felt a few of Spencer’s bigger shots to the body, Tszyu opened up in the third round, landing in close to “The Small Town Soldier’s” head and body.

Referee Chris Condon gave Spencer plenty of time to fight back, but the onslaught was relentless, and Spencer’s corner threw in the towel to save him from taking more punishment.

“I had a gameplan of moving on the backfoot, using my jab, but once he stood still, that’s when I took control,” Tszyu said. “I started feeling him.

Tim Tszyu silences his critics. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Tim Tszyu lands on Spencer. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

“I could see him tiring, and I could hear the referee saying to fight back. I was expecting the shots coming and luckily I didn’t get clipped.

“It’s always a good feeling proving people wrong.”

In a day of revenge and retribution, Liam Talivaa knocked out Brandon Grach in the fifth round in the co-main event.

Grach won their first fight in 2023 with one of the scariest KOs you’ll ever see in Aussie boxing.

But Talivaa earned revenge, dropping him three times on the way to an impressive win.

“I made this fight to make sure there’s no need for a trilogy,” Talivaa said. “I came here, boxed his ears off and finished it in the fifth round.

“There’s no rematch, I’m on to bigger and better things.”

Koen Mazoudier scored a bruising but one-sided win over Dan Hill, taking the Australian super-welterweight belt with him.

Team Tszyu celebrates the win. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Mazoudier immediately called for a rematch with Nikita Tszyu following their 2024 Fight of the Year.

Tszyu’s team was moments away from pulling him out of that fight back in August, before ‘The Butcher’ pulled off a ninth round stoppage.

Tszyu has been out of action ever since, with his return delayed due to an ongoing hand injury.

“It was a hard fight, but I’d rather not,” Tszyu joked. “He was a tough bastard, I dunno.”

Paris Olympian Callum Peters won his second professional fight inside one round and called out Max Reeves and Australian light-heavyweight champion Kirra Ruston.

The charismatic South Australian was beaten by the eventual silver medallist in Paris last year in a bout that was named fight of the tournament.

Earlier in the day, Aussie Blake ‘Bomber’ Wells scored a bloody and bruising boilover against Kiwi former world title challenger Andrei Mikhailovich.

Wells fought through two gruesome cuts over both eyes as the result of head clashes, before the $5.40 betting outsider claimed a heroic split decision win with scores of 56-58, 58-56 and 59-55.

Originally published as Tim Tszyu silences critics with brutal stoppage of Joey Spencer to remain undefeated in Newcastle