“I think Errol is going to do what he’s going to do, but I think Tim Tszyu is a very tough fighter and you have to be able to use your feet and you have to be able to box because if not, he’s going to try to knock you out,” James told Fighthype.
If Spence follows the advice to “box and move”, he may actually be playing right in Tszyu’s comfort zone.
The James approach feels like it belongs to the 2023 version of Tim Tszyu, not the one we’ve seen recently from Bakhram Murtazaliev and Sebastian Fundora. Both of these fighters have proven that Tim is vulnerable to pressure and power.
Derrick James telling Spence to use his feet suggests some things that don’t bode well for Errol. After the Crawford beating and three years of wear and tear, James may know that Errol can no longer take the bombs that Murtazaliev was willing to trade.
James seems to be treating Tszyu like an unstoppable shooter to be avoided, rather than a fighter who was recently bullied and broken by two aggressive power punchers.
Box and move is often trainer-speak for trying not to get hit, which is a dangerous mindset for a guy like Spence, whose entire identity is built on being the “Big Fish” who breaks people down.
If Spence tries to turn into a mobile boxer stylist at the age of 36, after several car accidents and a long layoff, he’ll probably get caught. Tszyu is excellent at cutting off the ring against fighters trying to flee. The only people who beat Tszyu are those who fought aggressively, Muratazaliev and Fundora.
Errol, 36, has not fought since his stoppage loss to Terence Crawford in July 2023, making it unclear what the former unified welterweight champion will look like in his return.
