Working with Diaz again signals that Tszyu plans to maintain a partnership that began after fights with Fundora interrupted his run near the top of the 154-pound division. The Australian had already gained momentum with wins over Tony Harrison, Brian Mendoza and Carlos Ocampo before two demanding fights against Fundora halted that progress.

Tszyu returned to winning form in December, defeating previously undefeated Anthony Velazquez by unanimous decision. This performance provided a necessary step forward after setbacks and allowed the 31-year-old to begin rebuilding his position among the division’s top contenders.

“I feel better than ever and I’m ready to get back to work,” Tszyu said, discussing the upcoming fight. “Denis Nurja is undefeated for a reason and is a real challenge. He has a substantial amateur pedigree with eight national titles and has fought at the world championships, so he has fought some sedate fighters there.”

The April competition will be Tszyu’s first appearance in Wollongong, an Australian coastal city with a powerful following for martial arts. Fighting at home again allows Tszyu (26-3, 18 KO) to further regain momentum in familiar surroundings and return to the title conversation.

Nurja (20-0, 9 KO) remains undefeated and sees this fight as the biggest opportunity of his career. The 31-year-old Albanian has been competing professionally since 2018 and has fought in several countries, gradually rising through the rankings. He recorded three victories in 2025 and began his 2026 campaign in February with a first-round stoppage of Jose Gregorio Marcano.

“There’s a reason I’m 20-0, and I didn’t build that record by playing it unthreatening,” Nurja said. “It’s the biggest opportunity of my career and I’m ready for it. People talk about Tim coming back, but I’m the one standing in front of him.”

The event will also feature a 12-round IBF super bantamweight title eliminator between Australian challenger Sam Goodman (21-1, 8 KO) and Argentine Rodrigo Ruiz (23-1, 17 KO), as well as a middleweight fight between undefeated 2024 Australian Olympian Callum Peters (5-0, 5 KO) and Delio Mouzinho (4-0, 4). KO).

The event will stream on Prime Video starting at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT for Prime members in the U.S. and select international markets.

Tszyu had regained his momentum earlier in his climb up the division. Another victory will bring him back to the world title fights that were once within his reach.

Mike Tyson expects a good fight between 49-year-old Floyd Mayweather and 47-year-old Manny Pacquiao when they meet in a rematch in September.

The two fighting icons first fought in 2015, with Mayweather passing the unanimous points winner after twelve rounds of action that failed to generate the incredible hype that had been building for about six years.

Despite the general consensus that both men had already seen their best performances, the event generated money and set various sports records that remain intact to this day. The only chance to break these records may be a rematch.

This gives some insight into why Mayweather and Pacquiao have signed a deal with Netflix to face each other again, this time at The Sphere in Las Vegas – the first boxing event in a futuristic facility.

I’m talking to Fighting the noiseTyson was excited at the prospect of a rematch, praising Pacquiao’s recent performance against Mario Barrios.

“I think it will be a good fight. I hope Manny is grave. Manny also looked good in the last fight he fought.”

Last July, Pacquiao drew with then-WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios. Mayweather, who retired in 2017, has only been lively in exhibitions and says he will continue to do so twice this year before putting his celebrated 50-0 professional record on the line against his Filipino rival.

Many assumed that the planned exhibitions of both fighters – Tyson for Mayweather and Ruslan Provodnikov for Pacquiao – would be canceled due to the scale of the rematch. Asked if his fight with Floyd would still go ahead, Tyson kept his lips tight and called back to an interview earlier this week in which he said with certainty that the fight would happen.

“Hey, you never know. Anything is possible… You know he’s crazy.”

Claressa Shields was recently a guest on the show Nightcap sports podcast with hosts Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson. Shields had an intense conversation with Piercing about the current balmy topic.

Shields spoke about her belief in her ability to defeat WBA welterweight champion Roland “Rolly” Romero. Sharpe strongly disagreed, pointing out that Romero was a man and a sturdy, talented professional boxer.

Shields responded by stating that when she trains, she always spars with men. She then spoke again about the infamous sparring session where she believed a foul occurred.

“This guy is a fraud. He had no padding in his gloves,” Shields said. “And if it’s not true, why hasn’t he and his coach sued me yet? This guy, I yelled at him the week before, he was furious and he didn’t like it.

Shields went on to say, “His coach gave him some used gloves that he said he got from Roberto Duran as a gift. That’s what the man, Derik Santos, the coach, said. The gloves had no padding on them and he caught me with that hook.”

Back in 2023, when the allegations came to the fore, coach Derik Santos talked about the incident while appearing as a guest on ProBox TV. Santos said he had never met Roberto Duran and that the gloves were regular 16-ounce gloves.

Recently, Claressa Shields’ former sparring partner, Arturs “Triple A” Ahmetovs (6-1, 2 KO), spoke with Vince DWriter about the 2018 knockout.

“I didn’t want to commit so strenuous, but the combinations I trained for worked instinctively. She came out aggressive and it came out a little sharper than I intended,” Ahmetovs said.

Arturs Ahmetovs denies accusations of using counterfeit gloves. He defended himself by saying: “The recording shows that they were ordinary gloves.”

Ahmetovs said he and Claressa Shields sparred twice. The first time it was a delicate sparring, the second time Shields became aggressive and was caught with a precise shot.

A year later, after an infamous sparring session, Arturs Ahmetovs made his professional boxing debut in March 2019, defeating Demetrius Wilson in the second round. Ahmetovs won his next four fights.

Ironically, in his sixth professional fight, Ahmetovs was stopped in the second round by Rolly Romero. Ahmetovs later rebounded to earn a unanimous decision victory over Władysław Baranov.

Originally from Riga, Latvia, his professional career was derailed when his visa expired. Ahmetovs tried to make a comeback three years ago, but every time a fight was scheduled, it ended up being canceled.

Currently, Arturs Ahmetovs is not energetic as his personal schedule includes training and coaching. Ahmetovs admits that he would consider returning if he found a good team with solid financing and a sturdy technical base.

Addressing the controversial sparring incident, Arturs Ahmetovs is adamant that Claressa Shields was eliminated due to a edged shot. He insists the damaged gloves had nothing to do with Shields going to the canvas.

Arturs Ahmetovs said he was wearing standard 16-ounce gloves the day he threw Claressa Shields. Asked why he never sued Shields, Ahmetov replied: “It’s not common in my country to sue someone for speaking out.”

Photo source: Instagram Arturs Ahmetovs