Three years after Terence Crawford took him apart in a nine-round thriller at the T-Mobile Arena, Errol Spence Jr. is back headlining a PBC-Amazon Prime Video card in Australia. While the former unified welterweight champion’s return has excited diehard fans, some remain skeptical about his prospects ahead of his July 25 fight against Tim Tszyu.

While Errol Spence Jr. has already arrived in Australia, where the event is scheduled to take place at Sydney’s Afterpay Arena, concerns have shifted toward reports indicating that his friend and stablemate Jermall Charlo, who features in the co-main event of the card, and fellow PBC fighter Stephen Fulton are still stranded in the United States due to visa issues.

According to the information received from a spokesperson for No Limit Boxing, the co-promoter of the event, a report from Fox Sports read, “Neither Charlo or fellow American Stephen Fulton — who also fights on the undercard — had flown out of LAX that evening, US time. Both are understood to be enduring issues with visas.”

While precise details still remain limited, it is believed that Charlo and Fulton’s visa delay, which has left them stranded at LAX, may have stemmed from ongoing administrative processing and clearance issues. This has now made his and Fulton’s appearance on the PBC-Amazon Prime card uncertain.

In a bill labeled as the United States vs. Australia, Charlo, a former middleweight title holder, is expected to face unheralded Koen Mazoudier (15-4-1) from New South Wales. Like Spence Jr., Charlo makes a comeback after a fourteen-month break. While he held championships in two weight classes, Charlo’s career has often been interrupted by lengthy absences. His last bout against Thomas LaManna took place eighteen months after he fought Jose Benavidez Jr. in late 2023.

Unlike Charlo and Spence, who are from Texas and have trained together under Derrick James before making the critical switch over to award-winning trainer Ronnie Shields’s stable, Fulton comes from the fight town of Philadelphia. However, layoffs aside, his career currently mirrors the pair’s recent trajectory.

After suffering the first loss of his career to Naoya Inoue in July 2023, Stephen Fulton regained momentum that saw him become a WBC featherweight champion after defeating Brandon Figueroa in February 2025. However, the loss to O’Shaquie Foster this past December has placed Fulton, who turns 32 today, in a difficult situation.

Taken together, with less than ten days remaining before their respective bouts, the visa problem poses a significant threat to Charlo and Fulton, who are both, alongside Spence Jr., attempting to put their careers back on course.

Notably, in boxing, the issues Charlo and Fulton currently face are not isolated ones.

Jermall Charlo and Stephen Fulton: They are not the first fighters to face visa problems

The most prominent recent case is that of former IBF super featherweight champion Joe Cordina. Coming off a dominant win over Gabriel Flores Jr. on December 13 last year, the Cardiff, Wales-born fighter was lined up for a title fight against rising lightweight star Abdullah Mason.

However, Top Rank’s headlining bout at Cleveland, Ohio’s CSU Wolstein Center had to be canceled after reports emerged that authorities in Great Britain had refused to issue him a visa to travel to the United States. While Cordina reportedly did not explain the reason while sharing that he has been “absolutely gutted” by the denial of a visa, it appears the issue could be tied to reports that indicated the 34-year-old had been charged in an assault case.

The issue is not unique to boxing, either. A similar situation confronted the mixed martial arts community when former UFC flyweight fighter Muhammad Mokaev could not make an appearance at MVP MMA 1, which took place at Inglewood, California’s Intuit Dome two months ago, due to visa issues.

The unbeaten Russian, who has since parted ways with the UFC and become the inaugural flyweight champion at Brave Combat Federation, was scheduled to face ONE Flyweight Champion Adriano Moraes at the inaugural mixed martial arts event of Jake Paul’s promotion, headlined by Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. However, it appeared that Mokaev was unable to secure an interview appointment in time to receive a P-1 work visa, resulting in the organizers lining up Phumi Nkuta against Moraes.

Against that backdrop, it remains to be seen how things ultimately shape up for Jermall Charlo, who recently found himself dealing with an old toll-road violation, and Stephen Fulton as the event enters the fight week. Speaking of Charlo, Ronnie Shields, who arrived in Sydney alongside Spence Jr. yesterday, remained hopeful. “He’s coming tomorrow or the next day,” he reportedly told The Punch Podcast.

Both are at important stages of their careers. Considering how the odds favor them in matchups against lesser-known Australian opponents, a win would significantly boost their standing before either makes a move toward a title.