The Road Less Traveled
Terrell Gausha is treading a fine line by stepping up to Erislandy Lara
In 2012, the US Olympic Boxing Team boasted a ton of talent. Names like Errol Spence Jr, Claressa Shields & Rau’shee Warren come to mind. Despite failing to earn a medal in London that year, many boxers on that squad have gone on to do great things. Undoubtedly the most famous alum from that class is Spence but if you dig into the roster a little deeper, one will find Terrell Gausha.
Gausha is a scrappy, 30 year old Cleveland native who is attempting to make his mark on the stacked Super Welterweight division. “Stacked” is not hyperbole either. The division is deeper than the Grand Canyon with the likes of the Jermell Charlo, Erislandy Lara, Boo Boo Andrade & J-Rock Williams. Even this list is leaving out numerous dangerous veterans & rising newcomers.
Undefeated professionally at 20–0 (9 KOs), Gausha is quietly building up a solid resume while working towards a belt. The difficulty of the path to a title has not seemed to deter him yet. This resolve was evident in his last fight as he recovered from a 3rd round knockdown & several low blows to win a unanimous decision. The experience of having to crawl back from being down in the cards may come in handy against the wily veteran Erislandy Lara (24–2–2, 14 KOs). Gausha isn’t particularly powerful and not known as a technician like Lara is. So Gausha will need all his Midwestern grit to defeat the experienced & proven Cuban.
Thus, this weekend is a pivotal point in Gausha’s career. A proverbial “fork in the road”. One path leading to a victory that will catapult Terrell to immediate respect in the division & a WBA strap. The other trail plunges him back into irrelevancy and the struggle to maneuver back towards a title shot. The latter option is much more common as not everyone gets the chance to hoist a world title. Gausha has the opportunity to follow his fellow Olympian Spence by avoiding the beaten path to obscurity and join the ranks of current champions.
Jovan Sharpe
IG: @BoxingLens
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