Tim Tszyu didn’t understand the criticism of his performance against Terrell Gausha as it was read to him by Brian Custer during a virtual press conference.

Showtime’s moderator wondered whether Tszyu would have difficulty dealing with Charlo’s “athleticism, talent and ring smarts,” similar to how he did when he got up from a first-round knockdown to beat Gausha by unanimous decision March 26. Charlo, of course, is the undisputed champion in the 154-pound division and undoubtedly a more accomplished, dangerous opponent for Tszyu than Gausha.

Nevertheless, Tszyu disputed the critique Custer pointed out to him.

“Did I win, though? That doesn’t make any sense, man,” Tszyu said. “If I lost, then I’d understand. But I won, so I can’t really comment on that question.”

Tszyu’s detractors have repeatedly pointed to the first-round knockdown Tszyu suffered against Gausha as proof that he won’t be able to take Charlo’s considerable power when they fight for Charlo’s IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO belts.

Charlo vs. Tszyu was scheduled for January 28 in Las Vegas, but on Saturday the contest was officially postponed due to Charlo injuring his left hand in training camp.

Gausha got there first as they exchanged right hands and sent Tszyu into a sitting position with exactly one minute remaining in the opening round. Tszyu quickly got off the canvas and recovered.

The Sydney native nailed Gausha with a right hand of his own that buzzed the 2012 U.S. Olympian in the third round. Gausha stayed on his feet throughout their 12-round bout, but Tszyu won on the scorecards of judges Robert Hecko (114-113), Bill Lerch (116-111) and Patrick Morley (115-112) in a main event Showtime televised from The Armory in Minneapolis.

The 28-year-old Tszyu downplayed the knockdown and emphasized how he came back from that memorable moment.

“As soon as I went down, I wasn’t hurt or nothing,” Tszyu said. “Just a little flash [knockdown]. And then I dominated for the rest of the fight, you know? And Terrell Gausha, he’s not a bum. They didn’t just find him out of nowhere. He’s a talented opponent. And he went to the Olympics. He had a great career. Look, Tyson Fury went down. … Some people have been down and then just get back up. That’s all that matters, is whatever life throws at ya, just get back up. That’s my mentality.”

Cleveland’s Gausha (22-3-1, 12 KOs) has lost only to Tszyu, Erickson Lubin and Erislandy Lara. Lubin and Lara beat Gausha by unanimous decision in 12-rounders before he fought Tszyu.

Most sportsbooks list Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) as a 3-1 favorite versus Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs), who is the mandatory challenger for Charlo’s WBO junior middleweight title.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.