Tim Tszyu Eyes Lara's WBA Belt in Bid for Two-Division History

Tim Tszyu isn't done for 2026. No Limit Boxing CEO George Rose has confirmed the 31-year-old is close to locking in a shot at Erislandy Lara's WBA middleweight title before the year is out, with talks between the camps described as nearly finished. The fight is expected to land this December in Australia — territory where Tszyu has never lost.

The prize is bigger than a belt. Beat Lara and Tszyu becomes just the third Australian to win world titles in two weight divisions, joining his own head trainer Jeff Fenech and IBF welterweight champ Liam Paro (28-1). That's the kind of company that turns a good career into a legacy.

The Road Here

Tszyu's path to this point hasn't been clean. He lost his WBO super-welterweight crown to Sebastian Fundora, then swung and missed on two 154lb title challenges — a defeat to Bakhram Murtazaliev (now 23-1 and coming off a loss to Josh Kelly) and a Fundora rematch. Three losses on the ledger, all of them outside Australia.

Then came July's reset. Tszyu jumped to middleweight and outpointed Errol Spence Jr., handing the former unified welterweight king only his second career defeat and prompting Spence — 28-1, his only prior loss a ninth-round stoppage to Terence Crawford — to retire on the spot. It was the highest-profile win of Tszyu's career and his first under Fenech as lead trainer.

The Lara Problem

Lara is the obstacle now, and age isn't the weakness it looks like on paper. At 42 he's the oldest reigning world champion in the sport, but his 32-3-3 (19 KO) record was built on control, not youth. Fenech says Lara fights nothing like a man his age — slick, dominant, and expert at dragging opponents into his rhythm. The Cuban is coming off a unanimous-decision win over Johan Gonzalez.

Fenech's job, by his own admission, is to break that pattern: keep Lara guessing rather than dictating. He said he'd love to guide Tszyu to a second divisional title but knows the challenge is real. If the ink dries, expect an announcement soon — and a December date that could rewrite where Tszyu sits in Australian boxing history.