Jermall Charlo return fight off because of visa issues, Tim Tszyu vs Errol Spence full fight card

Jermall Charlo’s hyped return to the ring on the Errol Spence Jr. vs. Tim Tszyu card is off after the American fighter was grounded by visa issues.

Tszyu v Spence Jr. | Sunday July 26 from 11am AEST | Tim Tszyu takes on the biggest name in his career so far – future hall-of-famer Errol Spence Jr, in a can’t miss event for boxing fans around the world. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.

Charlo was supposed to fight Koen Mazoudier in the co-main event for next Sunday’s card, but that bout has now been cancelled.

The 36-year-old took to Instagram on Saturday to confirm the unfortunate news.

“Unfortunately, I will not be able to fight next Saturday,” Charlo wrote.

“I’ve been training nonstop for the last three months and was ready to make a statement. I want to apologise to all my fans and let them know I will keep training and be back on a PBC event very soon.”

MORE: Top promoter reveals what makes Tszyu gamble so special

Australian promoters No Limit confirmed the news in a statement, and are also now said to be working on a replacement for Mazoudier.

When Fox Sports Australia phoned Mazoudier just after nine o’clock on Saturday morning, the popular Central Coast fighter was still unaware of the situation.

“Is that official?” he asked. “I’ve heard he was having trouble with his visa, but from everything we had been told he was going to get in. We had been told both the fighter and has coach were confident …. but it’s been confirmed he isn’t getting in?”

Told Charlo had posted he was off the fight on Instagram, Mazoudier continued: “F***, that’s so disappointing. That’s gut wrenching.

“But I’m sure the No Limit boys will put somebody in front of me. And for now, until I get official confirmation from them, the mission stays the same.

“But yeah, if true it’s really disappointing. But it’s also nothing I can change. So yeah, I’ll continue to control whatever I can and get the job done with whoever is in front of me.

“But man, that’s disappointing.

“I was sharpening up so beautifully for this fight. I was really ready to put on a performance that was going to launch me into world status. We’ll see what happens from me …”

Fox Sports Australia first reported growing concerns around Charlo’s visa on Wednesday evening, when the American failed to board a flight to Australia with close friend Errol Spence Jnr – who faces Tim Tszyu in the July 26 headliner.

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It initially expected the pair, who train together at the gym of Ronnie Shields, would jet into Sydney as a team on Thursday morning.

However, despite Charlo’s absence, Shields told reporters on arrival into the Harbour City that he was unconcerned and expected his second fighter here by Saturday.

“He’s coming tomorrow or the next day,” Shields told The Punch Podcast. “And camp (for him) has been great, really great. He feels so excited to come to Australia.

“And let me tell you something, he’s ready for that championship run. And he’s going to start it here in Australia.”

Then yesterday the drama took another twist, when Charlo took to Instagram with a photograph of himself standing on scales weighing what he said was 173.3 pounds.

Alongside the picture, a caption read: “In shape, on weight and ready. I’m not in Australia yet but I’m ready waiting on the call …”

Yet now it has been revealed he won’t be coming.

In better news, the third American superstar announced for the card, Stephen Fulton, quietly slipped into Sydney yesterday and was spotted waiting outside his hotel later that evening, hidden away under a grey hoodie.

Fulton faces two-time world title challenger Liam Wilson.

It is likely that fight will now become the co-main event.

Tszyu v Spence Jr. | Sunday July 26 from 11am AEST | Tim Tszyu takes on the biggest name in his career so far – future hall-of-famer Errol Spence Jr, in a can’t miss event for boxing fans around the world. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.

Meanwhile, Mazoudier also revealed this week how, before agreeing to Charlo, he was initially in talks for both the fighter’s twin brother Jermell Charlo and WBA middleweight champ Erislandy Lara.

Jermell is also a chance of being ringside for the fight, alongside the likes of Terence Crawford and Shawn Porter, with whispers suggesting US promoters PBC already have him penciled in for the winner.

“When discussions for this card first started, Lara was the first name I received,” Mazoudier told us this week. “Then there was also talk of Jermell Charlo, before it then switched to his brother Jermall.

“And I said ‘yes’ to all three because I know I’m a world class fighter.

“I mean, with some of my more recent fights (domestically), I’ve just known I was going to win. I’ve known I was better than the guy in there against me.

“And those fights don’t excite me.

“But a challenge like what I have now? Where I don’t know if I’m going to win, but I definitely know that I can?

“That’s what lights my spirit on fire.”

Even after the Charlo fight was announced, there were concerns the American superstar – who hasn’t fought outside the United States since 2009 – may struggle to gain entry due to some previous legal issues.

In June of this year, Charlo pleaded guilty to two separate criminal charges from a 2024 roadside incident — including one count of driving while intoxicated and one count of collision involving damage to vehicle greater than or equal to $200.

He was sentenced to three days in a Texas county jail and had his driver’s license suspended for 90 days, but he avoided jail time after the judge gave him credit for time served.

Concerns over his ability to travel Down Under were also further enhanced last month, when video emerged of him being arrested at gunpoint by Texas police officers, and ordered from his same orange Lamborghini, during that same incident from two years ago.

Charlo last fought in May 2025, when he scored a TKO victory over Thomas Lamanna. He was supposed to fight then-WBA super middleweight champion Armando Resendiz in May this year but was replaced by Jamie Munguia for undisclosed reasons.

— with Andrew Jackson