Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who bears the resemblance of a young Muhammad Ali, went inside a boxing ring this week during the Masters Series Hamburg tournament as he attended the Universum Box-Promotion gym in Hamburg, to spar with the current WBA heavyweight champion of the world, Ruslan Chagaev.

Tsonga, 23, received an introduction to boxing from Chagaev, before entering the ring for a couple of sparring rounds with the current WBA champ.

29-year-old Chagaev is nicknamed the "White Tyson." His next mandatory defense will be a rematch with Nicolay Valuev July 5, 2008 in Halle/Westfalen, Germany.


Tsonga: "It was very good. It was a pleasure for me to box with Chagaev. I got some very good tips and I learned a lot about boxing."


Tsonga: "It's good for me to see how a different sports works and very interesting to see what skills are required."

Tsonga:"There are a lot of similarities between tennis and boxing, although in tennis you don't throw punches at your opponent. But in tennis we are alone on the court and the psychological approach before a match can be similar. It's important to show your opponent that you are focused and that you are not scared of him."

Chagaev: "It was very odd. In the ring it felt like I was fighting against Muhammad Ali!"

Tsonga surprised many in the last Australian Open when he reached the final and this was where the world saw his remarkable resemblance to the American world boxing champ.

However, in Hamburg, the Frenchman did not have an equally good time. He fell off in the second round against Sweden's Robin Soderling.

( via Markus Reuter, photo credits to Oliver Hardt/ATP)

Tsonga boxing with heavyweight champion Ruslan