Junior middleweight contender Tim Tszyu is already gearing up for a planned mandatory showdown with WBC, WBO, IBF, WBA world champion Jermell Charlo.
Their fight is slated to headline a Showtime event on January 28 in Las Vegas.
One the fighters who Tszyu would love to secure as a sparring partner – is his most recent opponent, Olympian Terrell Gausha.
Back in March, Tszyu made his American debut with a tough victory over Gausha. Tszyu was dropped in the first round, but he eventually recovered and controlled the fight for a unanimous decision.
“If I get Terrell for sparring, that would be incredible,” Tszyu told The Herald. “He’s got great defense, great experience, great timing. He’s aware of all the punches and has great skill. I think Brian Castano used him for his Charlo fight, so that would be perfect.
“I was cold and careless [at the start of the fight], but got to show my level of skill. I put on a show against a really good fighter and dominated. Terrell is right up there, skill-wise. For someone to be in the American national team and an Olympian, that speaks a lot about where his skill is at.
“The pro game is a bit different, there’s politics and money and that stuff involved, whereas amateurs are based on who is the more skillful fighter. At one stage he was the best in America.”
Tszyu has a lot of respect for Gausha.
There was very little pre-fight trash talking between the two – and Gausha gave high praise to Tszyu in the aftermath.
“Money talks, especially in this industry, the entertainment industry,” Tszyu said.
“If you’re not able to generate it, they just brush you off. In this sport it’s not sometimes who is the best boxer, that’s the craziest part about it. He said I was his toughest opponent. And he has fought Lara and Lubin.”