Tim Tszyu v Terrell Gausha: American camp plan upset as Team Tszyu reveal fight plan
Tim Tszyu’s opponent Terrell Gausha is supremely confident he will outclass the Aussie on Sunday - and with three judges on his side it’s easy to see why.
Boxing/MMA
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The man who orchestrated one of the greatest upsets in boxing history is preparing a similar blitz on Tim Tszyu.
Manny Robles, who coached Andy Ruiz to knock out Anthony Joshua and become world heavyweight champion in 2019, is in the corner of Tszyu’s opponent, Terrell Gausha.
And the hottest rumour doing the rounds in the United States this week is that Gausha has been smashing his sparring partner, none other than Brian Castano, holder of the WBO super-welterweight title for which Tszyu is No.1 contender.
Robles, the former world trainer of the year, is considered one of the sharpest minds in boxing and believes like 20-1 underdog Ruiz, Gausha will stun the world by defeating heavy betting favourite Tszyu at The Armory in Minneapolis.
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“Terrell’s an Olympian (2012), he’s fought the best, if you look at his resume, with all due respect compared to Tim Tszyu’s, you can’t compare them,” Robles said.
“His claim to fame is Jeff Horn, you know what I mean? Enough said.”
Gausha and Robles exuded immense confidence talking to News Corp Australia after Friday’s weigh-in; both fighters came under the 154 pound (69.85kg) super-welterweight limit with Tszyu at 153.4lbs (69.58kg) and Gausha 153.2lbs (69.49kg).
It coincided with concern among Tszyu’s promoters No Limit Boxing that the Australian must get the knockout or risk getting robbed if the fight goes to the judges’ scorecards.
This is a Premier Boxing Champions event, and Gausha, as well as Castano and WBC, IBF and WBA champion Jermell Charlo, are all promoted by the company.
Charlo and Castano have a rematch for all four belts on May 14, with the winner set to defend their titles against the winner of Tszyu-Gausha.Robles believe his fighter’s performance will leave little room for debate from judges and observers.
“You win your fights in the gym, and we have had a great training camp,” Robles said.
“This is probably one of the best training camps he’s ever had in my opinion, he looked great, fantastic.
Tim Tszyu and Terrell Gausha have both weighed in under the 154 pound super-welterweight limit in front of a huge media contingent. We have a world title eliminator.
— Jamie Pandaram (@JamiePandaram) March 25, 2022
Tszyu 153.4 lbs
Gausha 153.2 lbs pic.twitter.com/8CAH6eOH9L
“We had great sparring, we sparred Brian Castano, we sparred Vergil Ortiz (18-0, 18KO), we sparred [Delante] ‘Tiger’ Johnson who is an Olympian, you can’t ask for better work than that.
“We’re ready.”
Gausha (22-2-1, 11KO), who has never been knocked out in his 25-fight professional career, has suffered just two losses.
The first was in 2017 against Erislandy Lara (28-3-3, 16KO) for the WBA and IBO super-welterweight titles, and the second was in 2020 to world title challenger Eriskson Lubin (24-1, 17KO), whose only defeat was to Charlo.
If he is to ever become world champion, Gausha must defeat Tszyu (20-0, 15KO).
“My journey has not been the easiest, but I’m an Olympian, I’m battle-tested, I’m a veteran in the ring, I take all the tough fights and here we are again with a great fight ahead of us,” Gausha said.
“The fight after this will be for the belts, for sure.
“There’s steps you’ve got to take, there’s levels, and we’ll see how [Tszyu] deals with it.
“I’ve been there before and I know what to expect.”
Gausha, who looked the naturally bigger man on the scales, smirked at Tszyu’s comments that he would “powerlift” the Cleveland native.
“He will see in the ring,” Gausha said.
As for the murmurs that he has been dominating Castano in sparring?
“We don’t talk about sparring,” Gausha said.
Robles added: “What happens in the gym, stays in the gym.”
The three judges selected to score the Tszyu-Gausha bout are all American; Robert Hecko, Bill Lerch and Patrick Morley.
“It’s a very risky fight, and the reason behind the risk is that we’re on a PBC card, headlining on Showtime, on their platform, on their card,” No Limit chief executive George Rose said.
“You’ve seen in the past, anytime an international fighter comes over into someone else’s back yard, the cards are stacked against them.
“That’s the risk we’re taking here, is that if Tim doesn’t finish this fight, there’s a good chance that we could see some very poorly judged cards so we have to be careful with that.
“We are aware of that coming into the fight, and that’s why we’re going to see Tim let his hands go, because he can’t afford to leave it in the hands of the judges.
“Across boxing this year alone, there have been some massive upsets and some very strange decisions gone against people who probably deserved the victory.
“So coming into Gausha’s backyard, we need to get the knockout.
“We’re against one of the best fighters in the division, but we need a knockout to guarantee the result.
“It’s a PBC card, in Minneapolis, we have no control over the selection process and we don’t know the background of the people selected, unlike in Australia, we know everybody there, here not every name is known to us.
“Tim’s a very smart guy, he’s watched boxing, he’s seen results, he knows how it works when you step into somebody’s backyard, and he’s got every intention to not let it play in the favour of the judges.”
TSZYU UNLOADS SAVAGE SLEDGES ON GAUSHA
After sizing up his opponent Terrell Gausha for the first time on Thursday, Tim Tszyu has vowed to manhandle the American who declared he can’t be bullied.
The rivals came face-to-face in Minneapolis for the final press conference before this weekend’s super-welterweight world title eliminator, and Tszyu was so unimpressed he believes he can “powerlift” Gausha.
“He’s got small shoulders, I’m bigger and stronger,” Tszyu told News Corp Australia.
“He doesn’t understand that I’m going to be able to pick him like that (putting two hands out) and powerlift him, that’s what he doesn’t understand.
“He’s going to try to counter, move forward, he’s going to try to bully me, we’ll see how he goes.
“I’ve worked out every scenario from A to Z.”
Tszyu also told Australian broadcaster Main Event that he would take away his opponent’s heart.
But Gausha vowed that Tszyu would not be able to physically dominate him.
“I’m a true junior middleweight, I’m not coming up from 147, I’ve been at this weight for a while so I feel like I’m strong and I’m not to be bullied, I don’t take no s---,” Gausha said.
“I’m ready, I’m feeling dangerous.
“I just like this fight. Tim’s a good fighter, he brings the pressure so it’s going to bring the best out of me to fight a fighter like that.
“When I watched his fights, he brings the pressure, that’s what he do. He don’t do too much that I’ve never seen.
“So I think I’m going to go out there and do some things he’s never seen before, I’m sure he’s been watching me, watching my fights, and I think he’s been watching the wrong thing because it’s going to be completely different.”
During the press conference, Tszyu was asked about his ambition to take out all super-welterweight rivals and unify the division – a feat within touching distance if he defeats Gausha and gets the winner of the rematch between Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano for all four belts.
“I’m not here to just take part, I’m here to really take over and I believe it,” Tszyu said.
“It’s in my heart, in my destiny.
“I was born ready.
“I’ve got a big responsibility ahead of me, but I intend to take it with both hands.”
Tszyu (20-0, 15KO) and Gausha (22-2-1, 11KO) are both adamant that the winner of this bout, to be shown live on Sunday from noon on Main Event and Kayo pay-per-view, should fight for the belts once Charlo and Castano have their rematch on May 14.
Australian boxing legend Jeff Fenech, in Minneapolis to commentate on the fight, predicts Tszyu to swarm Gausha in the ring.
“I’ve got all of the confidence in Tim, I just think he’s a class above all the fighters in the division,” Fenech said.
“When you talk about pressure, his pressure isn’t when he punches someone as many times, but he’s right in your face and his presence, he doesn’t give them time to breathe.
“He makes these guys think all the time.
“Mike Tyson said, ‘Pressure is not being hit, it’s the thought of being hit’, and Tim doesn’t give you time to breathe, if he sees you make a reaction that’s not right, he jumps on it.
“I honestly believe what he does in 10 or 12 rounds is triple to what anyone else in the sport, in his division, does. They’re not used to it, Gausha will get a shock after four or five rounds.
“He is the best opponent Tim has fought, especially skill-wise, but Tim works guys out really quick and he breaks them down.
“You watch him on TV and you think you can handle it, until you actually have to handle it.”
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