Sports · Combat Sports · 55 mins ago
Erislandy Lara to defend middleweight title against Tim Tszyu in Australia
WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara will fight Tim Tszyu on Dec.
12 at Cbus Super Stadium in Queensland, Australia.
The 43-year-old Lara, who is from Cuba, will make his fifth straight title defense and fight outside the United States for the first time since 2008.
Tszyu is a former junior middleweight champion who has won his last three fights after losses to Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev.
His latest win was against Errol Spence Jr., who retired after the bout.
Tszyu says he wants to become a two-weight world champion, a goal his father, Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, did not achieve.
The fight gives Lara a chance to keep his title and Tszyu a chance to win it in front of his home fans.
The card will also feature Jermell Charlo returning against Brock Jarvis and Liam Wilson fighting Elnur Samedov for the WBA super featherweight title.
Erislandy Lara is set to defend his WBA middleweight title against Tim Tszyu in Australia.
The articles give different dates for the fight: December 12 in ESPN and December 13 in ABC Australia.
They also give different venue names: Cbus Super Stadium in Queensland in ESPN and Robina Stadium on the Gold Coast in ABC Australia.
Tszyu, 28-3, is seeking to become a two-weight world champion after winning his past three fights.
The card is also set to feature Jermell Charlo against Brock Jarvis and Liam Wilson against Elnur Samedov.
- Who
- WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara and Australian boxer Tim Tszyu.
- What
- Lara will defend his title against Tszyu. The articles list the fight date as December 12 or December 13.
- When
- December 12, according to ESPN; December 13, according to ABC Australia. Both articles were published in November 2026.
- Where
- Australia. ESPN names Cbus Super Stadium in Queensland; ABC Australia names Robina Stadium on the Gold Coast.
- Why
- Tszyu is seeking to become a two-weight world champion, and Lara is defending his title.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Lara became WBA middleweight world champion.
Tszyu was crowned WBO light middleweight champion on the Gold Coast.
Lara knocked out Michael Zerafa in two rounds in Las Vegas.
ESPN and ABC Australia published reports announcing the planned fight, with different dates and venue names.
Lara is scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Tszyu, with the date varying between the articles.
- Lara's record
- 32-3-3
- Tszyu's record
- 28-3
- Lara's title
- WBA middleweight world champion since 2021
- Fight date
- December 12 (ESPN) or December 13 (ABC Australia)
- Fight venue
- Cbus Super Stadium, Queensland (ESPN); Robina Stadium, Gold Coast (ABC Australia)
- Other card bouts
- Jermell Charlo vs Brock Jarvis; Liam Wilson vs Elnur Samedov
2 sources
What people are saying
This is what I live for
Becoming a two-weight world champion is the one thing he never did
I've worked my entire life to be in this position, and I'm blessed to have more opportunities like this to be a world champion and defend my title
This is the biggest and best fight card in Australia, full stop