Tim Tszyu’s exiled manager insists he has no regrets about the way he handled the fighter’s career in the wake of The Soul Taker punting almost every member of his entourage this week.
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Speaking for the first time on the shock Team Tszyu break-up, Glen Jennings confirmed the 30-year-old has decided to part ways with five members of the group – himself, coach Igor Goloubev, S&C coach Dave Barker, cutman Mark Gambin and medic, Dr Bill Anseline.
Despite the surprise move, Jennings said Nikita Tszyu would be sticking solid with the same team moving forward, with his next fight expected to be an all-Australian showdown against Michael Zerafa in November.
Jennings addressed a small group of journalists inside Pat Rafter Arena on Thursday night, where several more of his fighters are competing on the undercard of Liam Paro’s IBF world title eliminator.
Asked if he had regrets, Jennings said: “There are plenty of experts with their opinions.
“But I can’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved.
“From a young fella who just wanted to win an Australian title, (Tszyu) won a world title, he’s financially secure, so I’m very proud of what we achieved as a team.
“And there are always going to be knockers who still say that the team is hopeless, clowns and all that.
“It has no effect on us.
“A manager’s job is to get your fighter to a level.
“And when everything is going great you’re the best manager in the world.
“As soon as you take a loss though — especially here in Australia — you can’t do anything right.
“But I don’t have any regrets
“The fights that Tim went into against the elites of the world, he never got the result.
“But that doesn’t change the fact he did it, and we got him there.
“So, no, from my side, I don’t have a lot to do with what happens inside the ring apart from getting the deals done.
“When you talk about Igor, coaching … that’s questions for them.”
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And as for how Goloubev is handling it?
“He’s like everyone — a little bit ‘wow’,” Jennings continued. “But you’ll have to talk to them because it’s a personal thing.”
Later Jennings continued: “It’s part of life, I guess.
“Decisions have been made … and the consequences are that our team has been removed.
“Five of us in total.
“So that’s the end of an era.
“And if this is what Tim needs to get back in the winner’s circle, then he should do it.
“I’m not going to put up a roadblock to that.
“It’s 2025.
“It feels like a disposable society.
“You see this every day in the NRL.
“It’s sad that a chapter closes, but sometimes it’s inevitable.”
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Jennings also revealed that when Tszyu initially came to him with his thoughts, “I said to Tim you need to think long and hard about this … he was very appreciative of everything we’ve done but in his mind it’s something he needs to do.”
Asked the reason for the split, he said: “If you can call it a reason, it’s more about him.
“He needs to do this for himself.
“There was no specific discussion about a reason.
“If anything, he was complimentary about what we’ve achieved.
“He’s a grown man.
“He can make those decisions.”
And as for if the decision is the right one for his fighter?
“That will be for others to decide,” he said.
“And based on what happens for Tim from here.
“He’s still got to go and do it.
“We won’t be there.
“He now goes and creates his own path while we move on with our own fighters.”
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