Featherweight Troy Nash Jnr wants to prove his opening win in the WBC Grand Prix tournament was no fluke.
Nash faces Zholdas Zhengissov on Saturday in a six-round bout at the Global Theater Boulevard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bout will be featured in round sixteen.
Nash, 4-0 (1 KO), a 19-year-old from Colorado Springs, Colorado, started his tournament strong. In April, he defeated Alexander Kovrigin via a split decision. Kovrigin was considered a favorite to win the tournament before facing Nash. Nash, who told BoxingScene after the fight he is looking to show the great pedigree of fighters from the United States, now looks to prove another point. He wants to prove that his first win wasn’t luck.
“I want to show the world that I am not a one-hit wonder,” Nash Jnr told BoxingScene. “I beat the best guy in the tournament in the opening round, and now I am going to show that I am a different type of talent.”
Nash Snr shares the confidence of his son but also expresses caution. Zhengissov, 9-0 (4 KOs), earned a second-round technical knockout over El Yazid Ezzaidani. It happened the same day his son fought.
“The guy we are fighting had the best knockout of the month, not just the tournament, but the whole month of April,” Nash Snr told BoxingScene. “He trains hard, he isn’t your average fighter. We entered this tournament to face fighters who are coming to win, and this is another one of those types of fights.”
The fight takes place six days after Father’s Day. Nash Jnr holds this fight special to his heart; not just to prove his place in the sport, but in tribute to his father.
“We normally do something special for Father’s Day and this year it is going to be getting a win against an unbeaten fighter,” Nash Jnr said. “The fact that we are doing it together makes it so special.”
Zhengissov, a 26-year-old from Aktau, Kazakhstan, proves the next step in Nash Jnr’s journey to expedite the prospect phase and jump right into being a contender.
“Look, this guy is tough. I am sure he is running in the mountains of Kazakhstan and doing all types of stuff,” Nash Snr said. “We just believe in our team, and I believe in my son. We have a job to do. We don’t call out anyone. But if someone is in the way of the goal of being a world champion, it is what it is.”