Terrell Gausha offers no excuses for his setbacks against then-154-pound titleholder Erislandy Lara and Erickson Lubin, the only two losses of his career. He ended up on the wrong end of unanimous decisions in both fights, in 2017 and 2020.
“They were just the better man that night,” he told Boxing Junkie.
The 2012 U.S. Olympian wants you to know something else, though: He’s a better fighter as a result of his disappointments, which he believes will be obvious when he faces talented Australian Tim Tszyu in a 12-round junior middleweight bout March 26 in Minneapolis (Showtime).
He pointed to his second-round knockout of capable Jamontay Clark in his only fight since the Lubin loss as indication of what he can do.
“I’m an Olympian,” he said, “and the confidence of Olympians doesn’t waver. It is what it is. Of course, we all want to go undefeated. I just was never scared to lose my ‘0.’ I wanted to fight the best. That’s what I do. I feel I’m a way better fighter than I was before. … Jamontay Clark was a solid opponent. And I stopped him in spectacular fashion.
“They say you’re only as good as your last fight. That was my last fight.”
Gausha (22-2-1, 11 KOs) will have fought four elite fighters – Lara, Austin Trout (draw), Lubin and Tszyu – in a span of only six fights, which underscores his desire to “fight the best.”
The question is how many more big fights can the 34-year-old, 10-year veteran from Cleveland expect to get if he doesn’t have his hand raised on March 26? Could the fight with Tszyu (20-0, 15 KOs) be his last chance on a big stage?
Gausha refuses to label this as a must-win fight. Every assignment, he said, is must-win.
At the same time, he acknowledges the importance of the matchup. If he wins, he will be in a strong position to challenge for a world title a second time.
He doesn’t want to be known as the guy who came up short in big fights. He’d rather people see him as a fighter who never gave up on himself and ultimately realized his dream of becoming a world champion.
“I had a lot of goals when I got into boxing,” he said. “The Olympics, a world championship. I didn’t do that but it’s still something out there for me to do. I want to be the best in the division. I have to go out and prove myself. Some guys win championships at a younger age, 22 or 25. Some guys win theirs when they’re older. As long as you win it is all that matters.
“… This is just how it played out for me. Everybody’s destiny is different. Like I said, I’ll probably be the person other fighters look at as a guy who kept persevering.”
