Paro v Crocker | Wednesday June 24 from 7pm AEST | Liam Paro gets his long awaited title shot against IBF welterweight champion, Lewis Crocker. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n And according to Thurman \u2013 himself a former world champ at 147 pounds \u2013 that uncertainty is part of why it\u2019s such a good matchup.<\/p>\n Speaking as anticipation builds for the blockbuster, Thurman said both men go into it with a few question marks.<\/p>\n \u201cSpence has had just too big of a layoff,\u201d Thurman told MillCity Boxing.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the biggest question mark, you know, when your layoff is long, no one\u2019s seen you, they don\u2019t know what version of you that they\u2019re going to get, and of course they\u2019re going to analyse you off of your last performance.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cYour last performance was not that good, so what version of you are we going to see? <\/p>\n Errol Spence and Tim TszyuSource: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n \u201cTim Tszyu, he\u2019s been having some little tune-up fights, he\u2019s trying to work with new trainers and you know enhance his overall ability in the ring as a boxer, so it\u2019s going to be interesting.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we know he\u2019s vulnerable \u2013 he\u2019s been dropped a lot, he\u2019s been hit, and he\u2019s been stopped, so both of them have some battle scars.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet there was one extra detail that appeared to nudge Thurman slightly towards Tszyu.<\/p>\n During the interview, the former world champ was informed the fight had been agreed at a 158-pound catchweight.<\/p>\n Visibly surprised by the number, Thurman suggested the extra weight would favour Tszyu, who has spent his career campaigning at junior middleweight (154 pounds) while Spence has been fighting at 147 pounds.<\/p>\n \u201cHe [Tszyu] is coming from a higher division,\u201d said Thurman.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen welterweights are adding more weight a lot of times they\u2019re just giving themselves an excuse to be slower, in my opinion. <\/p>\n \u201cBecause let\u2019s say the fight\u2019s at 158 pounds, and then they\u2019re going to rehydrate, so he\u2019s going to be 168-173 by the time he gets in the ring\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cYou put a solid 10-13 pounds on rehydrating.\u201d<\/p>\n The American also pointed to activity as another factor working in Tszyu\u2019s favour. <\/p>\n \u201cI think Tim Tszyu has the advantage of activity, and then Spence has the advantage of pedigree,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been at another level, he\u2019s achieved more. Even though it\u2019s at 147, I just feel like he\u2019s really done more, been in the ring with more world-class fighters, and had some victories against solid world-class fighters. <\/p>\n \u201cWhere Tim Tszyu has not been as victorious when the opposition really hits that AA class\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a solid 50-50 because they both just have some questions that need answers.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we\u2019ll get our answer come July, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/p>\n American superstar Jermall Charlo added to blockbuster Tszyu-Spence card<\/a><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779017096_680_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
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