Tim Tszyu and his camp have tasked identical twin light-heavyweights with helping him prepare for a shot at undisputed glory.
Tszyu and a small team headed to the US early last week, hoping to acclimatise to the conditions and sharpen his skills in the lions’ den that is the local boxing scene ahead of his fight Jermell Charlo in Las Vegas on January 28 (Jan. 29 in the US.) for all the belts in the super-welterweight division
“I'm taking this really seriously,” Tszyu told reporters.
“Last time it was too rushed. It's good to just get comfortable, be able to be in the place where you're fighting.
“Not many people get to fight for the undisputed world championship, so if you're going to do it, do it properly.
“This is why I came over here so early.
“Everyone's back home. So now it's all like this - tunnel vision.”
Currently based just outside Los Angeles, Tszyu has been sparring with the Bell twins, Justin (5-0) and Jason (4-1), a pair of 168-pounders from Maryland.
Tszyu and Charlo will step on to the scales at 154-lbs, three weight divisions below light-heavyweight.
“The [Bell brothers] are always pushing me,” Tszyu said of his recent sessions.
“The difference is, you’re coming in for the unknown, you don’t know who you are sparring.
“The boys are slick. That’s the difference.
“They are keeping you outside your comfort zone. In Australia, you’re known, everyone you run into at the boxing gyms knows you.
“It’s a different world out here.”
Despite the size difference, Justin and Jason have had their hands full with the 28-year-old.
“I knew he would be a solid guy even though he’s a bit smaller than me and my brother,” Justin told Sporting News.
“I was trying to imitate his opponent, Jermell Charlo, throwing hard counter shots, knockout shots, because that’s pretty much what that guy does.
“It was hard to really land clean shots on him. His defence is sound, he knows how to parry shots, he knows how to make you waste your energy, overthrowing shots.”
Charlo’s counter-punching has proven to be a key weapon for the champion, but Jason Bell believes it has become a strength of Tszyu’s
“What surprised me was his ability to counter, catch us in between punches,” Bell said.
“I think he got that going for him versus Jermell Charlo.”
Justin feels the sparring Tszyu is getting now should have him on course to spring an upset in Sin City next month.
“Honestly, if he can handle us, then he should be able to handle Jermell Charlo,” Justin added.
“We sparred with Jermall Charlo (WBC middleweight champion), who’s the bigger brother, and I don’t give secrets or nothing on fighters or tell what happened in sparring but we held our own with him.”
In addition to the high-level sparring, Tszyu has given himself every chance to succeed in this fight, undertaking two training camps in Thailand prior to the time in the US.
“I feel much stronger. My fitness, my gas tank is much bigger and the main thing is I get excited and I just want to go hard, hard, hard but you've got to be smart in this business,” he said.
“Charlo right now is the best in the division. I know the challenge I have in front of me, but I also know my abilities.
“Never underestimate me.”
Asked whether he feels he's improved since his US debut and most recent outing against Terrell Gausha in March, Tszyu oozed confidence.
“I don’t want to say it, I want to prove it,” he said.
“My IQ is there, my defence is on point, that’s something I’ve been working on a lot. I can’t make a mistake in this fight.
“I absorb all of that and appreciate that in this fight, there are no mistakes.
“That’s what I intend to do.”