‘I s*** myself’: Inside Tszyu bros’ wild sparring session that left Nikita ‘dazed’

Just about every set of brothers all over the world have shared the same experience.

You know, the one where the older sibling roughs up the younger a little too much and it leads to waterworks, only for the eldest to tell them to stop crying in fear of retribution from the parent?

Well, Tim and Nikita Tszyu are no different.

Except the brothers, separated by three years, aren’t just messing around when it comes to the sibling wars and there aren’t any parents to go running to with tears welling in their eyes.

Instead, it’s all-out warfare complete with 16oz gloves and headgear inside a boxing ring.

Despite their grandfather Boris effectively banning the brothers from sparring against each other early last year, the two decided to go again in the lead-up to Tim’s bout against Jermell Charlo, although the opponent has since changed to Tony Harrison.

And, as Nikita found out, sometimes it’s best not to poke the bear that is big brother Tim.

“He’s [Tim] technically a machine, but he’s also got this killer inside of him,” Nikita told Fox Sports Australia in December.

“We sparred recently. When I hit him with a good shot, he fired up. I saw, like, this anger in him.

“He’s like, ‘I’m going to get you back.’ I’ve never experienced that. I sh** myself. I was reluctant to hit him anymore.

“I just didn’t want to get in with any clean shots because he scared the s*** out of me.

“You hit him with a shot, and he’s coming straight forward. I was like, ‘F***ing hell.’”

Surely there’s moments during their sparring where one cracks a cheeky smile or a laugh, right?

Wrong.

In fact, Nikita recalls his very own “holy s***” moment when a punch from Tim left him “dazed” and perhaps a little confused too.

But, as most younger siblings may attest to, even through gritted teeth, it only served as a reminder why Nikita aspires to be “just like” his big brother in and out of the ring.

“It’s not fun at all,” Nikita said.

“I remember during the sparring, he hit me with a jab. It was in the first round. I lost all focus on what I was doing.

“I started thinking, ‘F***ing hell, that was the hardest punch I’ve ever copped in my life.’

“For a good 10 seconds, I wasn’t even focusing on him. I was like, ‘Holy s***.’ I was like, dazed. I had headgear on and he had 16oz gloves.

“I was like, ‘God damn, this guy is sharp.’ He’s another level and I aspire to be just like him.”