My first introduction to Australia’s historical fighting culture was hearing one of London’s best-known boxing coaches tell me, over a cup of tea in his gym, how a promoter paid his great grandfather to travel Down Under by ship to box a kangaroo.
My face must have looked as animated and confused as one of Ice Cube’s many iconic gifs, because I’ll always remember the trainer telling me, simply: “It’s what they did in those times.”
Advertisement
I wasn’t sure, back then, if he was trolling.
But for decades from the 1890s onward, circus handlers did, indeed, lace gloves onto trained kangaroos for sparring sessions with clowns, wrestlers and fighters.
Australia enjoyed the full spectrum of boxing back then, from the circus to the serious. The continent even hosted fights from that era’s world heavyweight champion, Tommy Burns of Canada. In one of the sport’s best-known heavyweight bouts, Burns lost the world heavyweight title to America’s Jack Johnson at the Sydney Stadium in 1908. Police ringside stopped the bout fearing fans would riot, as the sport’s first Black heavyweight king claimed his crown.
Of course, kangaroos no longer headline Australia’s combat prowess in the modern era. In the last decade alone, the country reestablished itself as a destination for elite, international boxing through Jeff Horn vs Manny Pacquiao in 2017, George Kambosos vs Devin Haney in 2022, and what’s coming on Sunday (Saturday in the United States) in 2026.
Advertisement
In a globally-relevant spectacle, Australia’s hometown hero, Tim Tszyu, welcomes another American ruler, Errol Spence Jr., for a middleweight brawl in New South Wales.
Errol Spence Jr. travels to enemy territory this weekend against Tim Tszyu.
(Al Bello via Getty Images)
For promoter George Rose, it’s one of the region’s biggest fights, as his company — No Limit Boxing — continues to develop as a worldwide force since its founding in 2013.
“You’ve got to put it up there with our biggest and best events we’ve had here in the country,” Rose told Uncrowned. “Errol Spence is a star of the sport. A guy who sells out Cowboys Stadium, and who has beaten a who’s who [of high-caliber opponents].
Advertisement
“It’s a blessing to have Errol coming here to fight his comeback off the back of one loss. And the momentum Tim Tszyu has had, what he’s done for Australian boxing, has inspired the public to get behind his exciting journey.
“When you talk about magnitude — these two guys and this event — the star power puts it up there with those great fights [from history].”
It’s not only Tszyu (27-3, 18 KOs) who has elevated Australia as a hotbed for the sport. Jai Opetaia and Liam Paro are also bonafide boxing champions, and Kaye Scott is set to defend her middleweight strap against pound-for-pound star Claressa Shields in August.
But while Rose points to a nation of warriors as the reason for Australia’s growing status within the sweet science, the reality is opportunities are more forthcoming for its athletes. There is greater visibility over the past decade, he said, and more broadcast interest in the region to go along with the capability of its fighters.
Advertisement
“The difference is there’s platforms for Australians. They can fight some of the best guys in the world, and get experience before conquering titles,” he said.
“Ten or 20 years ago, we had great fighters who didn’t get their opportunity to show how good they were on the world stage. Australia is so far away. And it really is. It’s a trek for the rest of the world.
“But we get some massive crowds,” he said. That fact only benefits Australian fighters when they leave the country for “a big international fight,” Rose added. “With 10,000 people screaming, flames, music and excitement — you’re not overwhelmed by that [and] it’s not as daunting as it would have been.”
Tim Tszyu celebrates after beating Denis Nurja this past April in Wollongong, Australia.
(Jeremy Ng via Getty Images)
The Tszyu vs. Spence fight arrives on the same weekend as Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua’s respective returns on separate cards. But it holds its own as one of boxing’s most significant matchups of the year.
Advertisement
It’s all a far cry from No Limit’s humble beginnings in “a country town” called Dubbo, considered the gateway to the Outback. Dubbo is known more so for its gaol and executions of 19th century murderers than for sport, but it is at the Dubbo RSL in front of a few hundred locals where No Limit and self-confessed “country boys” Rose and his brothers Matt and Trent held their first show, “helping local fighters get their opportunity.”
After just five events, Rose said they secured a deal with FOX Sports. Now No Limit continues to grow “year on year, and from event to event.”
It wasn’t long until the brothers signed Tszyu, a burgeoning boxer they knew because of his Hall of Fame father, Kostya Tszyu — one of the hardest punchers in super lightweight history.
“You won’t find any Australians who didn’t love his father, Kostya,” Rose said of Tszyu. “An absolute legend and an exciting fighter, too.
Advertisement
“We met Tim when he was still pretty raw. A real prospect coming through. Obviously, he had the name. My older brother, Matt, was keen to sign Tim. And since then, there’s no fight I’ve ever mentioned that [Tszyu has] said no to. Ever.
“It’s almost like you don’t have to ask the question because you know he will say, ‘Yes.’ He loves boxing. And he loves fighting. He loves testing himself and taking on anyone in the world. He wants to be a part of the big fights. He doesn’t want to finish his career having known he could have done this or that. He’d rather leave it all on the table, as far as the negotiation side.
“We’ve grown as a promotional company at the same rate he’s grown as a fighter. The partnership has been an enjoyable journey to the world title, and we’re ready to make the run again.”
Boxing is a sport famed for producing the highest of highs, but it’s often littered with the lowest of lows too.
Advertisement
Tszyu, 31, knows that all too well.
He beat Horn, Takeshi Inoue and Tony Harrison to establish himself as a rising force at super welterweight. But the sport threatened to chew him up and spit him out after he suffered three brutal losses in four fights from March 2024 to July 2025. This included brutal beatings at the hands of Bakhram Murtazaliev and Sebastian Fundora.
“A lot of promoters talk about separating the business from the fighter, but I’m an emotional guy,” Rose said. “I’m passionate. We only work with people we love. I could never work with a d***-head. Tim Tszyu is not like that. He’s a guy we’ve loved from a prospect at a small company, to a world champion and what we are now.
“To experience his losses with him … I felt that same heartbreak,” continued Rose. “When you sit down for dinner with his family, everybody makes you feel welcome and you feel part of the family. He’s like family to us. It was a very emotional experience to have to go through the losing process with him, knowing how hard he works.
Advertisement
“But I’ve always believed in him. When he said he wanted to keep fighting and that he still knew he could be a world champion, I believed him.”
It is, perhaps, only when one experiences the kind of lows Tszyu endured that a high follows shortly after.
As he makes his walk against Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) at the 21,000-capacity AfterPay Arena in New South Wales — far removed from the few hundred spectators No Limit entertained at Dubbo 14 years ago — Tszyu will hear the screams of an adoring fanbase. He’ll make his grand entrance as a national hero, like his father.
Tim Tszyu punches Denis Nurja during their April fight in Wollongong, Australia.
(Jeremy Ng via Getty Images)
And though it’s the most significant event No Limit has organized to date, it may only be a sign of things to come. The organization shows no signs of slowing down.
Advertisement
“We’re only going to keep getting bigger and better,” Rose said. “Liam Paro is world champion and we’ve got our eyes on Manny Pacquiao.”
Paro, a No Limit fighter like Tszyu, won the IBF welterweight championship with a 12-round decision over Lewis Crocker last month.
Listening to the broadcast at the time, it was clear a Pacquiao fight was in play. It’s a contest that could tempt the legendary Hall of Famer, considering Pacquiao’s disputed draw with Mario Barrios in 2025 and his controversial loss to Horn a decade ago.
“I’d love to bring Pacquiao back to Australia, because I know they believed they won the fight against Horn,” Rose said. “A lot of Australians will disagree. But he can have his opportunity to avenge that loss against a current world champion.”
Advertisement
Should that fail to materialize, there are other bangers Rose wants to book. “We’ve also got our eyes on Ryan Garcia and Rolly Romero. We are very interested in them. We’d love to fight Devin Haney, too,” he said.
“We want to unify, and we want to fight the stars of the division.”
And so, as Tszyu is one fight from a middleweight world title shot, and with Pacquiao beckoning for Paro, it’s clear the kangaroo is no longer present on prizefighting posters in Australia.
No, the country doesn’t need novelty acts anymore. Not when it has proven it can secure the main event. Now, there’s no limit to what Rose and his compatriots can do.
Read the full article here