Nikolai Terteryan turned a hard sparring session into a pivotal moment in his career. That moment forever told his trainer, Jamie Robinson, that Terteryan is something special, when he was knocked down, only to stop the man he was sparring with, rounds later. 

Terteryan turns pro Saturday against Issa Ajilat at the Save Mart Arena in Fresno, California, in a four-round middleweight bout. It will air on ProBox TV and ProBox TV’s YouTube channel.

Terteryan, 24, was the 2023 European Games gold medalist, and competed at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, but it wasn’t his accolades as an amateur or his technique that caught his trainer Robinson’s eye. It was something you can’t teach.

“He probably wouldn’t like me saying it, but he got dropped by a big-name pro in the second round of a sparring session,” Robinson told BoxingScene. “He got up and stopped the guy in the sixth round. That was when I knew he was a little different.”

Terteryan, who trains in Las Vegas but was born in Kolding, Denmark, recalls that sparring session.

“It was big for me, I can’t let somebody drop me and not get something back,” Terteryan said. “I took that personally.”

Terteryan will now make his professional debut at middleweight with plans of slowly moving down to junior middleweight. He will face Ajilat, 0-1, a 20-year-old from Macomb, Michigan, who doesn’t have the amateur achievements of Terteryan nor, one suspects, the same ambition.

“Without a doubt, I want to win a world title, and I know I can do it,” Terteryan said. “Everything I have set my mind to, I have done it.”

On adjusting to the professional game, Terteryan was concise.

“The pros are like a chess match,” Terteryan said. “In the pros, I can take my time, land some power shots, and smaller gloves make a huge difference.”

While Terteryan shed the final few pounds the night before the weigh-in at the fighter hotel, his trainer reflected the following about Terteryan.

“He is a great fighter, he is different from what I have seen in other prospects,” Robinson said. “He has an exciting style, and I am excited to watch it.”