Tim Tszyu's rival team threatens to walk away after alleged last-minute contract breach

Tim Tszyu’s highly anticipated return to the ring faces uncertainty after Joey Spencer’s team accused promoters No Limit of violating an agreement regarding the judging panel.

According to Spencer’s father and coach, Jason, they were initially assured that the panel would include one Australian and two international judges. However, they were informed just days before the fight that all three judges would be Australian.

The Spencer camp is outraged, claiming the late change undermines the fairness of the fight:

"When we were offered this fight 10 weeks ago, we were promised a neutral judging panel. 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. And the fact they’re also dropping it on us now, in fight week, it just isn’t professional.” [H/t: Fox Sports]

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While he stopped short of accusing the Australian judges of bias, he emphasized the importance of an even playing field.

Spencer Sr. urged Tszyu to demand a fair fight, questioning whether the former champion believed he could win without a perceived advantage. He also pointed out that previous international fighters in Australia, such as Tony Harrison and Brian Mendoza, had neutral judging panels.

With time running out, Spencer’s team is demanding a resolution before fight night, leaving the possibility of walking away on the table if their concerns aren’t addressed.

Tim Tszyu vs Joey Spencer: Fight details

Former light middleweight champion Tim Tszyu looks to bounce back from consecutive losses as he faces Joey Spencer this weekend in Newcastle, Australia. Tszyu, the former WBO titleholder, suffered defeats to Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev, making this fight crucial for his comeback.

The bout is scheduled for Sunday, April 6 at Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Newcastle, Australia, and will stream live on Foxtel Pay-Per-View and internationally via Amazon Prime.

Check out the main card start time and the headliner fight ringwalks across different time zones below:

Region	Fight Start	Ringwalks
Australia (AEDT)	11:00 am	2:00 pm
United Kingdom (GMT)	1:00 am (next day)	4:00 am (next day)
United States (ET)	8:00 pm	11:00 pm
India (IST)	5:30 am (next day)	8:30 am (next day)

Tim Tszyu vs Joey Spencer fight card:

Tim Tszyu vs Joey Spencer; Super welterweight
Brandon Grach vs. Liam Talivaa; Heavyweight
Endry Saavedra vs. Mikkel Neilsen; Middleweight
Koen Mazoudier vs. Dan Hill; Super welterweight
Callum Peters vs. William Lenehan; Middleweight
Brent Walton vs Isaias Sette; Super welterweight
Andrei Mikhailovich vs. Blake Wells; Middleweight
Cody Beekin vs. Ryan Daye; Middleweight
Cooper O'Connell vs. Benjamin Amos; Super lightweight

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Edited by Manjit Sarmah