Australia’s Tim Tszyu has already spoken with his younger brother about how best to share trainer Igor Goloubev – and a Las Vegas camp worth $200,000 – in preparation for what his team insists could still be a US blockbuster against Jermell Charlo in March next year.
It comes as No Limit promoters George and Matt Rose jetted into the world’s fight capital over the weekend to try and hunt down the American superstar, who Team Tszyu have accused of going AWOL.
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As first revealed by Fox Sports Australia, No Limit are pushing hard to have both Tim and Nikita Tszyu front a huge Las Vegas fight card next March – and on the same weekend the NRL launches its 2024 season in the same city.
To make this happen, the Rose brothers are currently Stateside conducting interviews with a range of US promoters, broadcasters, venue hosts and potential opponents.
The pair are also expected to meet with executives from Top Rank to discuss a showdown between Nikita Tszyu and American middleweight Nico Ali Walsh, the grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
Team Tszyu have also revealed Australia’s new WBO champion, who himself flew to Thailand on the weekend to begin preparations for a March headliner, could still land a unification bout against the man he was initially mandated to fight way back in January — WBA and WBC king Charlo.
While the Texan has twice opted out of Tszyu mandatories, and most recently vacated the IBF title, No Limit have not yet crossed his name from atop a list of potential opponents.
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia, Tszyu’s manager Glen Jennings named Charlo and fellow American Erickson Lubin as the “top two” candidates for the champ, who has just started two weeks training at Thailand’s famed Tiger Muay Thai gym.
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Elsewhere, Jennings revealed he has already completed all the necessary preparations for what would be an eight-week Las Vegas fight camp to prepare the brothers for their unique March showcase.
Costing around $200K, it involves the fighters arriving in the world’s fight capital on January 1, where they would live in a large house off the strip and train out of the Split T boxing gym.
While both Tszyu boys are trained by Goloubev, an agreement has already been reached for the trainer to almost exclusively hold pads for Tim during the build-up.
Nikita, meanwhile, will have his day-to-day workouts overseen by Mark Gambin, the long-time Team Tszyu corner who boasts a wealth of experience training both boxers and NRL players.
Asked about the top contenders for his WBO champ and Jennings suggested the two most likely contenders were Charlo and Lubin, the latter of whom is ranked top four with WBO, IBF and WBA.
“Right now, those are the two names jumping out,” he said.
“Lubin definitely, he is high in the mix.
“But make no mistake, we’re also pushing hard on Jermell Charlo.
“Problem is nobody knows where he is.
“He didn’t even turn up for his brother Jermall’s fight (last weekend) so nobody knows.
“But we’re still pushing for it.
“And we hope to hear soon from the Rose boys.
“In a perfect world it’s Tim and Nikita headlining a great card stacked with Aussie fighters like Sam Goodman, Liam Wilson, Vegas Larfield, Issac Hardman … that’s a cracker crew.
“Match them all up with guys in the USA.”
Jennings also confirmed Team Tszyu’s interest in Ali Walsh, who is still only 23, boasts only one more fight than Nikita and, despite taking a contentious loss last start against Sona Akale, boasts a strong following in the US.
Back in February, the grandson of ‘The Greatest’ told Fox Sports Australia he was aware of both Tszyu boys and was “definitely” keen to have a fight with Nikita if it made sense for his career.
As a result, No Limit are keen to lock down the now Las Vegas native, convinced he and ‘The Butcher’ could headline the March card themselves if a fight for Tim either cannot be made or falls over late.
“The big name we’re looking at for Nikita is Nico Ali Walsh,” Jennings confirmed.
“That’s definitely a fight we would take next.
“You’re talking about putting arguably the biggest name in world boxing up against a family that has now produced two world champions in Kostya and Tim Tszyu.
“And Nico is a good fighter who brings a lot of celebrity.
“But he also brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm when he fights.
“So even if Tim’s fight wasn’t to come off, the second one would stand alone as a headliner anyway.”
Jennings added that Ali Walsh was a rival that brought the undefeated Nikita Tszyu’s “career along at the correct pace”.
“From my perspective, it’s not about racing Nikita into fights that are above him,” the manager continued.
“There’s still plenty of time.
“Nikita is only a young fighter, still at eight fights, and has a lot to learn.
“But this would be a great first up test for him in the US.”
Jennings also said the brothers had also already agreed on how best to split their time with Uncle Igor, who trains both men.
“The plan is for Igor to train Tim but oversee Nikita,” he explained, adding that Nikita would do the majority of his padwork and physical training with longtime Team Tszyu corner Gambin.
“When you’re in camp for a world title defence, it makes sense that Igor focuses on Tim and Mark does the work with Nikita.
“Igor would still oversee the sparring and so on, but not the physical stuff.
“Mark would do Nikita’s pads, his strength and conditioning.
“So we would have Mark go over from the start of this camp because, at this level, we would have to keep the boys separate with their preparations.
“One would train, then the other would follow.
“So there would be some logistics there.
“But it really is the perfect time for Nikita to have a feel on the international market.
“Because while there are some Australian names being discussed moving forward, we also know there are some guys who won’t want a bar of him.
“So it’s likely we will have to start looking overseas anyway.”