Errol Spence Retires After Losing Decision to Tim Tszyu in Sydney

Errol Spence Jr. is done. The former unified welterweight champion announced his retirement in Sydney early Sunday after losing a clear 12-round decision to Tim Tszyu, closing the book on a career that once had him parked in pound-for-pound top-10 lists for years. Spence, 36, leaves at 28-2 (22 KO).

The cards weren't kind and they weren't wrong: 117-111, 117-111, and 118-110 for Tszyu, who moves to 28-3 (18 KO). There was no hometown padding here — the numbers matched what the fight actually looked like. Spence, coming off a three-year layoff and jumping two full divisions to face a middleweight, simply didn't have the tools he used to.

A Fighter Running on Empty

This wasn't a horror show, at least not by the sport's grim standards. But it was the kind of night that tells you everything. Spence was brave and tough, the way he always was, yet the hand speed was gone, the power didn't land the same, and his stamina cratered as the rounds piled up. Tszyu didn't even need to lean on him — he picked Spence apart at range and cruised.

For context on how far the road stretched: Spence's only previous defeat came against Terence Crawford, a ninth-round stoppage that unified the welterweight belts. That was the fight everyone remembers. This one, two weight classes north after years away, was the confirmation that the tank was empty.

Asked point-blank if he was retiring, Spence didn't hedge. He said his faculties are intact, his money's working for him, and he's leaving the sport with his family beside him to start a new chapter. Coming from a fighter who's absorbed the kind of punishment welterweight demands, walking away clear-headed is its own kind of win.

Tszyu Finds a Second Act

Tszyu, meanwhile, got exactly what he needed. He admitted he'd lost sleep questioning whether he belonged in the ring with a name like Spence, then went out and controlled him for 12 rounds. He's calling 160 pounds his new home and says he wants another world title as a middleweight — though he insists beating Spence tops any belt for him.

It's a tidy trade. Tszyu gets a career reboot and a marquee scalp; Spence gets a dignified exit instead of a slow, grinding decline. Not every fighter reads the room this well. Spence did.