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The upcoming fight between Tim Tszyu and Joey Spencer has been thrown into doubt after Spencer’s team raised concerns over the judging panel.
Joey Spencer holds a 19-1 record, with his one loss being against Jesus Alejandro Ramos Jr. back in 2023. Tszyu is scheduled to fight the American after two losses in a row against Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev.
“When we were offered this fight 10 weeks ago, we were promised a neutral judging panel,” Spencer Sr. told Fox Sports Australia.
“It was a key term that there would be one Australian judge and two internationals. Yet now, at the last minute, we’re being told it will be three Australians. That doesn’t work. It’s not our agreement.”
The father of Tszyu’s opponent insisted he was not accusing judges of corruption or bias but merely wants a fair fight for his son, who is fighting Tszyu in his home country of Australia.
He said: “We also want a fair chance. Because we know judging is something that, if you’re watching one fighter even a little more than the other, or like one guy a little more than another… even if you’re a fair judge, will the decision be altered on who you give a close round to?”
The fight is crucial for Tszyu, who is looking to bounce back to title contention after his losses, one of which occurred in the bloodiest fight in recent boxing against Fundora. Interestingly, Tszyu has banned his father from attending the event. His father last attended Tsyzu’s fight with Murtazaliev, in which he was stopped in three rounds:
“It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t a distraction. It was unfamiliar. I’m just not used to him being there.”
Spencer’s camp has suggested they could consider walking away from the bout if a fair judging panel isn’t guaranteed:
“For those rounds that are close, we know with neutral judges we have a shot at winning them […] but with an Australian judge, odds are we don’t.”
With the fight week underway, it remains to be seen whether the dispute over the judging panel will be resolved or if Spencer’s team will follow through on their threat to withdraw.
