Lara Defends WBA Title Against Tszyu On December 12
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Erislandy Lara will defend his WBA middleweight title against Tim Tszyu on December 12 at Cbus Super Stadium in Australia, Premier Boxing Champions confirmed Monday.
The card streams live on DAZN, with Lara bringing a 32-3-3 record to the ring and Tszyu standing at 28-3. Bad Left Hook reports that Tszyu previously held a junior middleweight world title before losing to Keith Thurman in March 2025.
🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to Erislandy Lara vs. Tim Tszyu on Ticketmaster →
Tszyu Chasing Two-Weight Legacy
The Australian framed the matchup as a chance to surpass his Hall of Fame father's achievements, according to comments released by PBC. "Becoming a two-weight world champion is the one thing he never did," Tszyu said of his father. He described Lara as the type of opponent he actively pursued for this chance.
Lara acknowledged the difficulty of competing on foreign soil but said he welcomes the test against a dangerous home fighter. The Cuban southpaw has 19 knockouts across his 38-fight career and won the WBA strap in his most recent outing.
🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to Erislandy Lara vs. Tim Tszyu on Ticketmaster →
The co-main event features Jermell Charlo returning from a 15-month layoff to face Brock Jarvis at junior middleweight. Charlo has not fought since his September 2023 loss to Canelo Alvarez, while Jarvis rebounded from his Thurman defeat with a domestic win. Opening the show is a WBA 130-pound title fight between Elnur Samedov and Liam Wilson.
Photo: Larry Burton on Picasa Web Albums / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Original reporting:
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