Tim Tszyu is set to face Errol Spence Jnr on July 26, with the bout most likely to land in Sydney and a catchweight of 158lbs agreed by both sides. The fight has already stirred up strong opinions, and this week Brian Norman Jnr and Shakur Stevenson both went public with stark predictions about what they expect to happen.

Norman said he expects Spence to look like a different fighter and predicted a first-round knockout, adding that he had seen him in camp and believed the former champion would be better than he was in the past. He also said Tszyu had nothing for Spence, while Stevenson backed the Texas fighter too, saying, “I got Errol” and insisting he did not see Tszyu being the man to beat him.

For Tszyu, the matchup carries weight beyond the name value. Team Tszyu tried to make the bout at 154lbs, but the sides settled on 158lbs instead, leaving the Australian to meet Spence a little higher than his camp had pushed for. The change matters because Spence is moving into a fight that sits outside the weight his team wanted, while Tszyu is trying to make good on a return that has drawn attention far beyond Australia.

The reason the bout has held the spotlight is Spence’s long absence. He has not fought in almost three years, and his last major setback came when Terence Crawford brutally stopped him. Before that loss, Spence had beaten Danny Garcia and Yordenis Ugas after a serious car crash, a run that showed he could still perform at the highest level. Now the question is whether that version of him is the one that shows up in Sydney.

Tszyu’s side also knows the stakes of the setting. The source notes he has lost three championship bouts on US soil, which gives the Australian a different kind of pressure as he prepares for a fight that may end up back home. Spence, meanwhile, arrives as a former world champion whose recent inactivity and stoppage loss have left room for doubt, even as his supporters insist he can still be a dangerous force. Norman said it plainly: “We’re going to see a different version of Errol Spence,” and “first round knockout coming soon.”

Stevenson was just as blunt when asked for his view on The Agnew Podcast. He said Tszyu would be destroyed in the fight, adding that an in-the-box fighter like Tszyu would struggle against Spence. That confidence reflects the uncertainty around Tszyu-Spence and the way Spence’s return has become a test not just of timing, but of how much of the old fighter remains after the layoff and the Crawford defeat. July 26 will answer that in the ring.