The Angels: Joe Goossen, right now, is seeing exactly what running a boxing ring in El Paso, Texas once had him do.
“It’s that left hand on the liver,” says the Hall of Fame trainer, nodding to where Tim Tszyu is sweating during another workout inside his famed Los Angeles gym.
“He is so similar to the old man.
Watch Boxing live and on demand on Kayo. Select international fights, classic fights and more. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Tszyu meets Kupp before Charlo’s camp | 01:05
“Left to the body, to the head…might as well be a clone.”
Then, after a short pause, Goossen adds, “I think Tim has the old man’s right as well.
“And Kostya Tszyu, very fucking good. When she hit you with that thing… it was curtains.”
Now sitting on a tall wooden stool inside his Ten Goose Boxing gym, one of America’s sharpest fighting minds explains to Fox Sports Australia what it’s like to see a ghost.
Or close enough.
Featuring the undefeated Tszyu, as part of the buildup to his successful world title showdown with Jermell Charlo on January 29 in Las Vegas, now training daily at Goossen’s gym.
Better yet, and around 5 p.m. every afternoon, this champion trainer who now also doubles as an analyst for Fox Sports will lock down said base so that the offspring of that fighter he once groomed against himself can train away from prying eyes. .
“And for the son of Kostya Tszyu, anything,” he says.
Which, again, has to do with that ghost.
With the trainer recalling how 24 years ago, he was forced to step into the ring to ensure that one of his favorite fighters, former IBF lightweight champion Rafael Ruelas, a charge he had trained since childhood, would not come back. exit the ‘Thunder from Below’ Australia. .
Back then, Kostya Tszyu was only 28 years old and on the cusp of sporting greatness.
Which is why after watching him dominate Ruelas for eight rounds, Goossen ran to the ring early in the ninth and fired him.
‘I’m shaking in my boots!’ | 00:44
“And you know me, I’m all for late-round knockouts,” says the trainer whose clients include Riddick Bowe, Shane Mosley, Amir Khan and Diego Corrales.
A man too, who has just been announced as a 2023 Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, joining the likes of Timothy Bradley, Rafael Marquez and Carl Froch.
A coach who, in short, has never given up.
“But as a coach, you have to know when to hold them and know when to fold them,” continues the now 69-year-old.
“And that night, Kostya Tszyu came with a whole new mission.”
Watching the young Tszyu continue to work as he speaks, Goossen explains how the Ruelas fight came just a year after Kostya’s first loss, against American Vince Phillips.
“And that was our problem,” he admits.
“After that loss to Phillips, Kostya was totally dedicated to training coaches, strength coaches, dietitians, everything.
“He came into his prime, built a stunt empire around him…and then we got him.”
Importantly, Ruelas was also nearing the end of his own career when he withdrew from the WBC light welterweight title eliminator.
Get the latest boxing news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Register now!!!
“Rafael had stalled almost 60 fights in less than 10 years,” Goossen says of the man who also faced Oscar De La Hoya for IBF and WBO belts.
“There are many fights.
“So knowing that, it was a determining factor (in rushing the ring).
“Like the fact that Kostya still looked as good in eighth, then in ninth as he did in first.
“I just wasn’t slowing down.
“That’s why I stopped him.”
Not that, initially, his charge agreed.
“Rafael was very upset because I entered the ring,” recalls Goossen.
“He just watches the tape, he turns to me like ‘what are you doing here?’
“But looking back later, he understood that he would have had to knock out Kostya.
“It was a tough fight.”
Tellingly, the result also goes a long way to explaining what Goossen sees on this particular Friday night inside a nearly empty fight gym.
O’Connell v Bridges Press Conference | 04:58
“And obviously,” says the coach, again looking over at Tim Tszyu. “Because this is a fighter whose father taught him everything.
“And dad wasn’t going to teach him the Sugar Ray Leonard style.
“He taught the Kostya Tszyu style.
“It worked for him and now it works for Tim too.”
In fact, there’s only one difference between the two that really unsettles this soon-to-be Hall of Famer.
“It’s the names,” he laughs. “And that quantum leap from Kostya to Tim.
“How does that happen?
“To me, that’s the most important question of all.”
