By Jim Calfa: Unbeaten #1 WBO junior middleweight contender Tim Tszyu (20-0, 15 KOs) weighed in at 153.4 pounds on Friday at the weigh-in for his main event fight against Terrell Gausha on Showtime Boxing at the Armory, Minneapolis. Gausha weighed in at 153.2 lbs.
Tszyu, 27, only needs to win this fight on Saturday for him to fight for the WBO title against the winner of the rematch between WBO 154lb champion Brian Castano and IBF/WBA/WBC champion Jermell Charlo on May 14th.
Tszyu is the favorite going into Saturday’s 12 round headliner against the 34-year-old Gausha (22-2-1, 11 KOs), but he might be in for a big surprise.
Gausha is a lit better fighter than the opposition that Tszyu has been fighting. Tim has got power, but so do a lot of the fighters that Gausha has beaten in the past.
If Gausha can pull off a minor upset on Saturday night against Tszyum it’ll be him that challenges the Charlo vs. Castano II winner. That would be impressive.
Other weights on Tszyu vs. Gausha card:
Michel Rivera 136.5 vs. Jospeh Adorno 136.75
Elvis Rodriguez 141.25 vs. Juan Velasco 141.5
“He hasn’t fought a fighter like me before. He definitely hasn’t fought a fighter like me before,” said Terrell Gausha to PBC Podcast in talking about Tim Tszyu.
“It’s definitely a different style and a different look. Every fight is different. Of course, Tim Tszyu is a different fighter. I can’t do the same things I did with the other fighters, so I have to come with a different game.
“As fighters, we have to stay relevant, and the way we do that is by putting on dominant performances like that the fans want to see finishes like that, so that’s what I’m trying to do,” said Gausha in reflecting on his second-round knockout win over Jamontay Clark last year in March 2021.
“At this point in my career, I feel like I’m still getting better. It’s kind of weird because most people are on the decline, but I feel like I’m learning stuff and getting better and I’m ready.
“I think he brings excitement, I think he brings his fan base and his style,” said Gausha when asked what does Tszyu brings to this fight. “I like it, but I feel like there are levels to this.
“We have to go in there on Saturday to see what he really has. I’m the kind of guy that locks in. I don’t really care about none of that, to be honest. I just like to fight,” said Gausha when asked about his thoughts on being the underdog against Tszyu.
“The underdog, the fans, all that stuff don’t matter to me. But it’s not my first experience being the underdog, as you know. I’ve been the underdog. Even in my last fight [against Jamontay Clark], they had me as the slight underdog. See what happened then. So it don’t really matter.
“It’s where I’m at mentally and where I’m at in my career,” Gausha about the Tszyu fight coming at a good point in his career. “I have more of an edge now.
“I envision how the fight [with Tszyu] plays out in my head, but that’s why we have the fight. I see myself winning. Every fight is a must-win fight. Any fight can set you back.
“I don’t put that kind of pressure on myself, but I just go out there and do what I do. We do know the magnitude of this fight, and we do know the opportunity I have to fight for the belts. That’s what I want,” said Gausha.
It’s not a big deal that Gausha is the underdog in this fight because he’s facing a popular fighter in Tszyu. Still, Gausha has a real chance of winning if he can avoid getting caught by one of Tszyu’s big shots.
