“Get in and watch his last fight. This is his last goodbye,” Tszyu said via Ring Magazine.
Tszyu’s prediction comes after Spence acknowledged that retirement is a genuine possibility.
The 35-year-old recently revealed he is approaching his career on a fight-by-fight basis and admitted his bout with Tszyu could be his last.
“For me, I’m not going to give it all to boxing. It’s really a fight-by-fight basis. I might be done after this. It just all depends,” Spence said.
He added that while he is giving “100 percent” to training camp, he has already started thinking about life after boxing.
“Training camp, I still got eight weeks left, and I’m like, ‘Bro.’ I’ve been thinking about vacation spots.”
Spence has not fought since suffering the first defeat of his professional career against Terence Crawford in July 2023. Rather than taking a tune-up after nearly three years away from the sport, he is moving up to junior middleweight for the first time to face one of the division’s leading contenders in Tszyu.
Tszyu has also faced adversity over the past two years. He lost a split decision to Sebastian Fundora in March 2024, stopped Joseph Spencer to get back on track, then suffered defeats to Bakhram Murtazaliev and Fundora in their rematch.
The Australian has since steadied himself with decision victories over Anthony Velazquez and Denis Nurja, but defeating a former unified champion like Spence would mark his biggest win since beginning his latest resurgence.
The stakes for Spence may be even higher. Having already admitted retirement is a realistic possibility, July 25 could prove to be the final chapter of his career if Tszyu’s prediction becomes reality.
