Boxing LIVE updates: Tim Tszyu takes on American Errol Spence in Sydney

Australian Callum Peters is a star on the rise after he improved his record to 8-0 (7KOs). Here is how he did it ...

A couple of points of interest as we count down to the main event … Firstly, had it gone the distance, Aukuso would have won on points (he was up 88-82 on the judges’ cards going into the final round).

And the all-Australian battle between Callum Peters and Ivan Actis has just ended in the seventh round. Peters kept his undefeated record intact after the referee decided Actis had taken enough punishment. Strong performance from Peters, while Actis showed plenty of heart to battle on with a bad cut near his left eye.

Only one more bout – between Australian lightweights Paul Fleming and Ahmad Reda – before it’s Tszyu time.

We told you it was something special. Now see it for yourself ...

It’s what us journo types often describe as a “candid and wide-ranging interview”.

I got the chance to catch up with Tszyu recently and he spoke about how close he came to retirement, his family dramas and why a win against Spence would cement his legacy. Rolled gold.

If you missed the feature that appeared in The Sun-Herald, here it is folks …

Oh momma!

It took until the 10th and final round, but Paulo Aukuso scored a stunning knockout win.

The Australian Olympian got a straight left through the defences of Argentine Luis Antonio Tejeda, who was out cold before he hit the canvas.

Aukuso didn’t have it all his own way in a fight that went a lot longer than expected. But that final punch is one of the knockouts of the year.

In one of the earlier bouts, Tina Rahimi earned a unanimous points decision win in a bantamweight battle against Sacha Ryan Dryden.

Below, courtesy of co-promoters PBC, is the fight line-ups.

We’ve just finished the sixth round in what has been an entertaining bout between Australian Paulo Aokuso (10-0, 5 KOs) and Luis Antonio Tejeda (12-0-1, 9 KOs). Their IBF Pan Pacific light heavyweight title is scheduled for 10 rounds.

That’s how this fight card was being promoted when it was first announced. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case after some late withdrawals. The first setback was American Jermall Charlo, who was denied an Australian visa, causing the cancellation of his scheduled 10-round super middleweight bout against Australian Koen Mazoudier.

And then yesterday, another drama – the bout between Aussie Liam Wilson and Stephen Fulton Jnr was cancelled because the latter badly missed the weight limit.

Fulton was taking the mickey; the agreed weight was increased to 60.3kg to accommodate the American, but he was still well over when he stood on the scales.

“This feels like an absolute stitch-up,” said Glenn Jennings, Wilson’s manager.

“It’s totally unacceptable and a blight on the sport. This is unprofessional. There’s nowhere to go for this bloke now.”

The good news is that Tszyu and Spence weighed in without incident, and that’s why we are all here.

Tim Tszyu has totally overhauled everything about his fight preparations.

After sacking two sets of trainers, “The Phoenix” has settled on Jeff Fenech, a hall-of-famer who won four world titles in four weight divisions. I recently spoke to Fenech, who said the focus was on helping Tszyu rediscover his love of the sport.

“First and foremost, he will be mentally prepared. The last few fights, he’s had a million things in his head,” he said.

“He will be fitter for this fight than he has ever been. He won’t be this crazy guy that wants to push guys and talk about them. We have a job to do, and we’ll do it like a good tradesman.

“It’s a very big statement when you’re talking about Spence, but I’d like to think we could get out of there before the fight.

“We’ve done the work. The job is now up to Tim.”

It’s a huge day for Australian boxing as our very own Tim Tszyu goes up against the opponent he’s been chasing for years, Errol “The Truth” Spence Jnr.

Spence is a future hall-of-famer, the only blemish on his record a loss to the legendary Terence “Bud” Crawford in his last fight. That was three years ago, so the big question is how he will return after such a long lay off.

Tszyu comes into the stoush at Afterpay Arena with his career at the crossroads and the “Marrickville Mauler”, Jeff Fenech, in his corner for the first time. If Tszyu wins, it will be the biggest scalp of his career and he’ll be back into world title calculations. A loss and his career could be over.

The event is officially a sellout, so if you don’t want to shell out $70 for the privilege of watching, let us bring you all the action from ringside here instead.