Why Terrell Gausha has more than a puncher’s chance against Tim Tszyu

Terrell Gausha is a former Olympian who believes he’s on the rise and hopes to prove it against Tim Tszyu on March 26 at The Armory in Minneapolis. 

Australian boxer Tim Tszyu makes his U.S. debut against former Olympian Terrell Gausha on Saturday, March 26, but Gausha hopes to spoil his welcoming party.

The odds are against Gausha. According to Wynnbet.com, Gausha is a 7-1 underdog, but Gausha proved in his last contest why he shouldn’t be underestimated.

At the time, Jamontay Clark was a promising prospect. The 6-foot-2 rangy southpaw sported impressive skills and was seven years younger than Gausha.

None of that mattered as Gausha put a brief pounding on Clark in 2021. Gausha crushed Clark’s jaw in the second round with a perfectly timed right cross that dropped Clark.

Clark got up, but Gausha mauled him and forced the round 2 stoppage.

Clark only has two losses on his record, and they were both decisions to Erislandy Lara and Erickson Lubin. After the Lubin defeat in 2020, many people lost faith in Gausha.

However, Gausha never lost faith in himself.

“You got to make adjustments, and let’s be honest, I’m an Olympian,” Gausha said to FanSided. ” They expect a lot out of me, you know. That’s my job to go out there and put on good performances, good shows for the fans.”

Watch Tim Tszyu vs. Terrell Gausha on Saturday, March 26, on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET

Gausha (22-2-1, 11 KOs) re-tooled himself for Clark, and the result was his best boxing performance. He knew he needed to do something different.

He came out slow against Gausha and others. Gausha knew he had to increase his punch output early in fights.

“I felt like and more than just a Lubin fight, a few other fights that I need to start faster,” Gausha said. “Because I’m sure my opponents studied to film, and you know, you want to give them a different look.”

Knowing that you need to make a change and doing it are two different things. To help induce change, Gausha reached out to an old friend and former stablemate from his days in Cleveland, OH, Prenice Brewer.

Brewer started to transition from professional boxer to trainer. A former national amateur champion, Brewer had a knack for strategy.

Gausha added Brewer to his team before the Clark fight to help devise a plan for the southpaw Clark. It worked out well, so Gausha invited Brewer back to camp to help him train for Tszyu.

“I called him after the fight, and I told him, you know, I needed him to get out here, so he been out here ever since,” Gausha said. “First time working was the Jamontay Clark fight and now working with this fight as well.”

Tszyu is a significant challenge for Gausha. At 34 years old, Gausha is seven years older than Tszyu, but Gausha feels like he’s in his prime.

“I went pro kind of late, which was 25,” Gausha said. “I went to the Olympics and went pro right after. So not being having that experience, I feel like right now I’m at the best. I have been through a lot in the game. Took a couple of losses, but I feel like each one I learned something from.”

Tszyu (20-0, 15 KOs) is the son of former super lightweight champion and boxing Hall-of-Famer Kostya Tszyu. Tszyu is making the family name proud and has shown his boxing genes through 20 flawless victories.

This is Tszyu’s first time fighting outside of Australia, and he gives up the home country advantage when he steps into the ring against Gausha at The Armory in Minneapolis, MN. Gausha feels that all the pressure is on Tszyu in their Showtime main event.

“Definitely the pressure is on him, you know, but me as a fighter, as a competitor, it’s always you want to go out there and win,” Gausha said. “I never go into a fight expecting to lose or just going there just to do good. I want to win. I want to be a world champion.”

This could be Gausha’s ticket to a super welterweight world title fight, and it’s far from an easy road, but he’s a veteran and feels like he’s operating on a different level than ever before.