With an Australian boxing legend in his corner, fallen world champion boxer Tim Tszyu is aiming to go full circle in his career rebuild.
Tszyu (27-3, 18 KOs) will return to the same ring where he first became a world champion to take on former unified welterweight world champion Errol Spence Jr (28-1, 22 KOs).
The July 26 bout at Afterpay Arena in Sydney Olympic Park comes three years after Tszyu beat American fighter Tony Harrison to claim the interim WBO super-welterweight title.
The 31-year-old's career has since stalled, first losing his WBO title and the vacant WBC belt to Sebastian Fundora in 2024, before a brutal world-title loss to Bakhram Murtazaliev later that year.
Tszyu then lost a rematch against Fundora in 2025, a despairing seventh-round TKO defeat.
Recruiting Cuban trainer Pedro Diaz, Tszyu kept his career afloat with wins against Anthony Velazquez and Denis Nurja.
Leaving Diaz in April, Tszyu - newly nicknamed "The Phoenix" - has partnered up with Australian boxing legend and four-division world champion Jeff Fenech.
"Jeff brings a great energy. He brings something that I haven't felt for a long time within a team," Tszyu told AAP.
"I wasn't enjoying myself, what I was doing. I wasn't enjoying the people that I was around with.
"People used to, I don't know, cause a lot of problems, and this time around, I don't have that.
"It wasn't a slow realisation. I knew a long time ago.
"I just kept my mouth shut and just kept on going - why do I have to do this sport and my career if I'm not really happy?
"Right now, I'm happy."
Fenech said the toughest challenge in his new partnership with Tszyu was getting the boxer "mentally right".
"Without a doubt," Fenech told AAP.
"That was my only priority. That was my first job, which was to make him happy.
"Knowing that he had a team around him that was going to look after him in any circumstance - winning is everything, but it's not the only thing.
"My biggest job was trying to get Tim mentally right, and I think that he's a real happy guy now, and I've conquered that.
"The rest of it will be much easier now."
Spence's career has also stalled, with the 36-year-old ending a three-year hiatus to face Tszyu.
The American fighter hasn't been in action since his ninth-round loss to Terence Crawford for the undisputed welterweight championship in 2023.
Western Sydney's super welterweight champion Koen Mazoudier (34-0, 23 KOs) headlines the co-main event for another Australia-US showdown, taking on undefeated Jermall Charlo (34-0, 23KOs).
Australian Olympians Paulo Aokuso and Paul Fleming are also on the card, with Tina Rahimi making her professional debut.
