Tim Tszyu to call on legendary father Kostya’s help ahead of Jermell Charlo world title showdown

Kostya Tszyu may have been an undisputed world champion and a legend of the sport, but when it comes to eldest son Tim’s boxing career, he’s only been to one of his 21 professional fights – the first.

Last year, Tim said Sporting News his frustration with his legendary father that night in 2016.

“He was uncontrollable – a pain in the ass,” Tszyu said.

“The only person I could hear was him, his voice.

“I remember thinking in the back of my head, ‘Dad, can you shut up? I’m boxing here, I’m doing it myself. Stop telling me what to do.’”

As of that night, the 27-year-old no longer has to worry about hearing his father’s advice while he fights – Kostya returned to Russia and wasn’t back to witness his son’s rise to world title contender.

That looks set to change when Tim takes on American Jermell Charlo for the undisputed super welterweight title on January 28 (January 29 in Australia) in Las Vegas.

Tszyu announced in Brisbane on Wednesday that Kostya will be involved in some way this time, although there will be one important stipulation.

“He wants to come with me. I would like to see him there,” Tszyu said Sporting News.

“I’ll definitely get some tips from him. He was the undisputed champion for a reason. We haven’t discussed all the details about it yet, but we will take care of it.”

One thing is for sure, Kostya will not be at ringside: “He will be in the crowd, that’s where he will be.”

At Charlo, Tszyu faces by far the biggest challenge of his career, but the long gap between his last appearance – his US debut win over Terrell Gausha in March – and his shot at all the belts at 154 pounds could be his lucky break.

Tszyu required surgery on both hands after beating former Olympian Gausha by unanimous decision.

“My hands are sort of recovering and it’s given me time to just be 100 percent healed,” he said.

“I’m fighting back, I was a little worried but it’s good.

“I worry less about my hands. I was worried before.

“If I were to fight now, it wouldn’t be a good idea. In the next six months I can condition them to be like rocks.”

Tszyu said the lengthy preparation for the fight will also give him time to hone his style and be ready to bring down the hard-hitting 32-year-old.

“No, I’ll be very different,” he said.

“I will box. I can’t make a mistake.”

But will Tszyu’s trademark in-your-face, letterpress style appear?

“We’ll see how I feel. When his punches don’t take much, I just walk forward like a zombie.”