Tim Tszyu stood by the Hunter River the morning after he put away a world-ranked rival with ease.
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"I haven't slept," the unbeaten super welterweight contender grinned.
"Half an hour actually, I closed my eyes for a bit. I'm still buzzing from the night, so much adrenaline runs through your body."
Needless to say the 26-year-old is yearning to do it all again. His five-round demolition of Dennis Hogan in Newcastle left the Irishman with a split tongue that will render him unable to eat solid food for some time.
It takes Tszyu one step closer to a world title shot, an opportunity scores of fans riding the wave with the face of Australian boxing are craving.
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But for the man himself "there's no rush". Tszyu believes he was ready to take on the best in the world some time ago, but he believes "everything will fall into place".
Tszyu is the No. 1 contender to WBO champion Brian Castano's crown. Jermell Charlo holds the WBA, WBC and IBF championships. Liam Smith, Magomed Kurbanov and Patrick Teixeira have all been floated as potential opponents.
The current landscape carved out by the COVID-19 pandemic means it may be tricky to secure international opposition, potentially opening the door for a domestic bout with Michael Zerafa.
A fight with Zerafa "keeps me busy", Tszyu says, while he looks to establish himself as a global superstar in boxing.
"Why not bring fights here? You could fight in a shoebox in front of no one, or you can fight in front of a roaring crowd," Tszyu said.
"Every fighter deserves to experience such an atmosphere or event, so why not bring it here?
"I need to fight the global stars, the top five, top 10 in the world. There are going to be names mentioned all around the world now, now that the whole world has got the attention.
"I know what I want to reach. I know I've got the potential to reach where I'm going to reach. This is baby steps at the moment."
So much of the talk surrounding Tszyu's path to a world title is about him establishing his own legacy as Tim, not the son of Kostya.
Yet there can be little doubt his father's remarkable accomplishments are motivation for the man who has quickly become a household name in Australian sport.
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"My dad was an undisputed world champion for 10 years, what have I done?," Tszyu asked in the wake of his brutal win over Hogan that forced the red corner to throw in the towel 2.29 into the fifth round.
With each fight Tszyu displays another weapon from a growing arsenal. Against two-time world title challenger Hogan, it was his ferocious body shots that not even a cut above the eye could derail.
"I got cut in the second round with a headbutt. I didn't pay attention to it in all honesty," Tszyu said.
"All I thought about was 'this guy is going to get tired sooner or later'. Once I started breaking him to the body, I could see his face change, his eyes change, the sound he [made when he] was breathing.
"I wasn't letting him off all night. You can suck the life out of anyone by doing that. People say 'you had a bad day'. It's not because he's having a bad day, it's because I'm making him have a bad day.
"A few times [blood] went in my eye, but this guy was getting hunted. I've got a little scratch on my face, but this guy was getting hunted. I was in killer mode."
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