(VIDEO) Tszyu Is Reported to Face 43-Year-Old WBA Champion Lara for a Middleweight Title in Australia

Tim Tszyu is expected to fight WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara in Australia late next month or in December, a bout that would give the Australian a chance to become a two-division world champion, according to reports that have not yet been matched by a signed announcement.

Boxing News, citing Fox Sports, reported Monday that Tszyu is set to return in late November against Lara, who has not fought since a unanimous decision over Johan Gonzalez last December. Earlier Fox Sports reporting in September said contracts were close to being finalized for a December date. No Limit promoter George Rose told the outlet then, "We've had great discussions with Lara's team, and I feel like something is close to being announced." Tszyu, speaking from training in Thailand, said, "I'd rather fight for a world title," and, "To become a two-division world champion, that's what I'm chasing. And against a guy named Lara." He added, "Liam Paro was the second person and now I'm attempting to be the third. So it would be a real legacy defining moment in my life."

Tszyu, 31, won a unanimous decision over Errol Spence Jr. on July 26 in Sydney. Spence retired after the fight. Tszyu previously held the WBO super-welterweight title. He lost by stoppage to Bakhram Murtazaliev and Sebastian Fundora before a three-fight winning streak that includes the Spence result. Lara, 43, is the oldest reigning world champion. He stopped Danny Garcia in the ninth round in a prior defense and scored two knockdowns against Gonzalez. He is a southpaw. A scheduled unification with Janibek Alimkhanuly last December was canceled after Alimkhanuly failed a drug test.

Jermell Charlo, who has not fought since a points loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2023, has been reported as a possible undercard name. Tszyu has called a fight with Charlo "unfinished business" while saying he prefers the title shot. Rose's September comments and Tszyu's own statements establish that talks were advanced. They do not establish a signed date. The late-November report and the December report are a month apart. Until a promoter posts a contract, a venue and a purse, the fight is a negotiation that both sides have said is close, for a belt held by a 43-year-old who has not been in the ring since December, against a 31-year-old who has won three straight.