At 37, Terrell Gausha is very much aware that he can’t keep alternating wins and losses and still be considered a serious player at the same time.

The 2012 United States Olympian Gausha is 4-4-1 in his last nine fights dating back to 2017 and is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Carlos Adames in June. Defeats have also come against the likes of Erislandy Lara, Erickson Lubin, and Tim Tszyu with a draw against Austin Trout sandwiched in between.

Gausha (24-4-1, 12 KOs) is now tasked with seeing if southpaw upstart Elijah Garcia (16-1, 13 KOs) is the real deal or not following his first career loss as they enter their middleweight matchup Saturday on the undercard of Sebastian Fundora’s unified title defense against Chordale Booker at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

“I just have to go out there and be myself. I’ve fought everybody … I’ve got a lot of experience,” Gausha said during a recent press virtual press conference. “So I’ll use that to my favor. I’ll fight anybody. I just love to fight, so it’s a good opportunity. I’ve seen him fight a few times when we fought on the same cards. He’s young, so I’ll go out there and use my skills and experience.

“I never look at being a gatekeeper or stuff like that, but at the same time, I realize where I’m at. I’ve fought five southpaws, so I’m no stranger to them. I fought one of the best in Lara. I’ll just go out there and do what I do. I’ve been at this stage before. It’s more pressure on him, and a step up for him.”

Garcia fell flat last time out in June and lost a surprising split decision against Kyrone Davis, now The Ring’s No. 7-rated 160-pounder.

Neither Gausha or Garcia are ranked in The Ring’s top 10 at middleweight, which is universally considered one of the weaker divisions in boxing due to its current state of talent.

“I don’t look past Garcia because he’s young and hungry,” said Gausha, who is trained by Manny Robles in Los Angeles. “He likes to bring pressure, so I’ve been training really hard to keep my pace and do what I have to do and be ready 100 percent. That’s what fans want to see. They want to see good fights, so that’s my job and I’m ready for this.

“This is a good fight for me that will really establish me at 160 pounds. This will put me in a good place for a world title. I still want to fight people like Lara and get some redemption, but my job is to worry about Garcia first and then we get the big fights. It’s not about just winning, it’s about how you win, if you dominate or sit them down.

“Expect me to go out there and be dominant. A lot of times styles make fights. This fight will bring the best out of me because he’s young and I like people who put pressure on and throw a lot of punches. That gives me the opportunity to land my counter punches. This fight will prove I’m still a big player in the game.”