Tim Tszyu is preparing to take on Keith Thurman on March 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Ahead of the fight, Hall of Fame fighter Roy Jones Jr. is singing high praises of Tszyu, the WBO super welterweight champion and second-generation star.

“I like Thurman. I think ‘One Time’ is a great fighter,” Jones told Boxing Scene. “But I don’t know if ‘One Time’ is going to carry 154 pounds as well as he carried 147.

“If he can carry his punch up, he’s going to be a problem. But Tim Tszyu is a different animal. Tim Tszyu is something special. He reminds me a lot of his dad, [Kostya Tszyu]. His dad was always something special even before people knew who he was.

“I met him back in the 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow,” Jones said of the elder Tszyu. “I knew then he was going to be something special. His son is also something special. You can’t go up against Tim Tszyu and not bring your punch with you, because Tim Tszyu is a problem already. So if Keith can bring his punch with him, then he has a good chance. We’ll find out if Tim Tszyu can take a punch.”

Tszyu  (24-0, 17 KOs), 29, had a standout 2023 campaign, scoring stoppage wins against Tony Harrison and Carlos Ocampo and defending his WBO 154-pound title for the first time in a dominant decision win over Brian Mendoza.

“He’s showing a lot of promise,” Jones said. “He does a lot of beautiful things. He had an absolutely marvelous performance against Tony Harrison. I was surprised he beat him so easily. I was completely taken away by it.

“I don’t know about pound-for-pound, but I do see Tim Tszyu being a top-5 to -10 fighter in his weight division.”

At 35, Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs), the former unified welterweight champion, will return from another lengthy layoff to try to revive his career and re-enter boxing’s limelight in a new division.

The non-title tilt between Tszyu and Thurman will headline an Amazon Prime pay-per-view event.