By Norm Frauenheim

Boxing, often said to be on the fringe, will be there and just about everywhere else this weekend with fights across the globe and the virtual universe.

Center Stage:

Down Under.

That’s where Errol Spence Jr. and Tim Tszyu will meet in Sydney in a middleweight fight intriguing because it’s hard to know what will happen.

Everything about it is uncertain, which is one way to describe the state of today’s boxing, a sport that’s already a working definition for chaos.

Spence hasn’t answered an opening bell in the three years since his devastating loss to Terence Crawford.  There were questions then. And now.

Spence has acknowledged them, which raises one of the biggies: Is this the end? Will he retire if he loses to Tszyu in a DAZN-streamed bout (Sunday in Australia/Saturday in the United States on a card scheduled to begin at 9 pm ET, 6 PM PT)?

“This feels similar to when I went over to England to fight Kell Brook,’’ said Spence, who during a media workout talked about a victory that turned him into a pound-for-pound contender before suffering serious injuries in a serious car crash. “The mentality doesn’t change at all. It’s me-versus-him, everything on the line.

“The hunger is still there, and I’m still here to show everyone that Errol Spence is still here.’’

Tszyu, himself, is fighting in his homeland to restore all the promise he had before losses to Sebastian Fundora.’

“I just want to get in there and smack him,’’ said Tszyu, who during pre-fight talk and turmoil said he wanted to damage and hurt Spence.  “…He seems ready. He looks strong. I want to see how bad he wants it. We’ll see how he reacts to getting hit.’’

We’ll see.

That’s the operative phrase, perhaps caveat, for everything else on this weekend’s busy schedule.

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are fighting. Fury was scheduled to face Mariusz Wach in Thailand Friday in a fight not scheduled to be televised. It’ll be over when Joshua faces Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia Saturday on DAZN.

Both bouts are considered tune-ups for a projected all-UK showdown at Wembley Stadium later in the year. Then again, it almost feels as if their careers have been one long tune-up. UK fans have talked about Fury-Joshua for more years than anyone can remember.

We’ll see,or — if its Fury-Wach — maybe not.

It all ends Sunday with Zuffa in its New York debut at Madison Square Garden’s Infosys Theater with two Brooklyn-born fighters, super-middleweight Edgar Berlanga and welterweight Richardson Hitchins on Paramount Plus.

Berlanga faces Steven Butler; Hitchins fights Ricardo Salas.

Zuffa has already had plenty to say about the state of the game. Sunday, it has a chance at some final say-so about a weekend that might be the beginning to a new chapter in how boxing is run and who runs it.

Will Zuffa deliver with a powerful statement?

We’ll see.

By Norm Frauenheim

Errol Spence Jr., unseen in the ring since his devastating loss to Terence Crawford nearly three years ago, goes Down Under in late July against Tim Tszyu with fans and foe wondering who will show up.

Thursday, he didn’t show up at all.

Spence was a no-show for a video appearance via-satellite at a Sydney television studio, where he and Tszyu were scheduled to talk about their 158-pound catchweight date on the last Saturday in July.

Tszyu, an Aussie living in Sydney, waited.

And waited.

No Spence.

No explanation either.

But there was plenty to say, mostly by a frustrated Tszyu.

“He’s a diva,’’ Tszyu said after an awkward 45 minutes that turned a studio into a waiting room.

Thursday morning in Sydney, he might as well have been an extraterrestrial. Repeatedly, there were attempts to reach Spence, who was in – of all places – Houston, a city known for communicating with satellites.

But there was no answer from Spence, who might as well have been in another universe or maybe just in bed. He’s been training in Houston with Jermall Charlo, who fights on the Sydney undercard against Aussie Koen Mazoudier.

Turns out, the often-volatile Charlo wasn’t lost in space. He caught his satellite and made his virtual appearance, right on time.

Charlo was there and Spence wasn’t. That only seemed to sharpen Tszyu’s anger.

I’m quite upset,” said Tszyu, a slight betting underdog in his own country

“Just a diva attitude.”

“I had to change plans. But it is what it is.

“Right now, I’m thinking about every limb of his body that I want to hurt. I want to inflict pain. And in three weeks I get to put my hands on him …”

Spence had already angered Tszyu. Before the fight was formally announced at a Las Vegas news conference on a May day when David Benavidez’ stopped Zurdo Ramirez for a unified cruiserweight title, Spence refused to shake hands with Tszyu during an encounter at the MGM Grand.

“The guy is living in his own little fairytale, thinking he runs the show.’’ Tszyu said. “He thinks everyone is on his time. But, unfortunately, we’re not. Just as I won’t be when we finally step into that ring.”

Uncertainty about Spence has been there, even before his loss to Crawford. Questions still linger about whether he has ever completely recovered from injuries suffered in a scary car crash October 2019.

Even Spence acknowledges the questions. He’s also mentioned retirement more than once. However, he expressed only confidence during a media workout Wednesday in Houston.

“Camp has been great.,” he said. “I can’t complain at all. We’re putting in the work and leaving no stone unturned. I’m excited.

“…This was the right time to come back, and against the right opponent. My body feels good, so I said why not?

“…We’re focused on the task at hand and that’s conquering Australia.’’

The continent, not the studio.