Kostya Tszyu: Australia's Pocket Hercules

Since the rise of numerous alphabet soup sanctioning bodies in the 1980s, the words "Undisputed World Champion" are rarely spoken of a fighter in modern times. The sheer financial and political hurdles to overcome make collecting all of the significant titles around one person nearly impossible. It helps to have substantial financial backing, such as was enjoyed by Mike Tyson or Roy Jones in their bids for undisputed championships. That makes the achievement of Kostya Tszyu, a lesser-known fighter fighting on a secondary network (Showtime and not HBO) all the more glorious. For four years, Tszyu reigned as the Undisputed Super Lightweight (140lbs) World Champion.

Born in September 1969 in Serov, Russia, Tszyu is of mixed Russian, Mongol, and Korean descent, explaining his curious semi-Asiatic features. The son of a metal worker and a nurse, Tszyu grew up in the shadow of the Ural Mountains. His Father decided he was too energetic (today we would call it "hyperactive"), and took him to a boxing gym where hopefully young Kostya could burn off his extra energy. He impressed his coaches, and quickly became a fixture in the Soviet Union's national amateur boxing circuit. As a Soviet teenager, Tszyu had no prospects of becoming a professional athlete in the Western sense, but instead was a "professional amateur" of the sort common in Communist Bloc countries. When he came of age, he was conscripted into the Red Army, but exempted from combat service because he was an elite athlete. As an amateur, Tszyu racked up a record of 259-11, and won titles as the Junior European Featherweight Champion (1986); won Gold at the European Championships(1989 and 1991); a Bronze and a Gold at the World Amateur Championships (1989 and 1991); a Gold at the 1990 Goodwill Games; and was on the Soviet Olympic Boxing team at Seoul, Korea in 1988. In his amateur career he met and defeated Terron Millet and Vernon Forrest, both future professional world champions.

It was at the 1991 World Amateur Championships in Sydney, Australia that he first visited what would become his future home. He fell in love with Australia and its people, and when the Soviet Union collapsed, he immigrated there with his girlfriend. He turned pro in 1992, and married his sweetheart in 1993.

The Amateur Champ in Australia

A young amateur with a resume like kostya Tszyu's is unheard of Down Under, and Tszyu's career was catapulted forward. Most amateurs turning pro start with 4 round fights against other novices, and steadily advance. Tszyu's first opponent had a 7-1 record, and Tszyu was meeting him in an eight rounder. It did not last anywhere near that long, however, as Tszyu knocked out his man in one round.

In only his fourth bout, he defeated his first former world champion in the form of 32 year old Juan La Porte. La Porte was fighting 14lbs heavier than his championship days, and was clearly past his best, but it was still a huge hurdle for a man only in his 4th professional bout. Tszyu won a points decision. He continued his winning ways and rapid ascent: Tszyu crushed fringe contender Sammy Fuentes in one round and knocked down and outpointed veteran Livingstone Bramble. Tszyu's first couple of years as a professional were unbelievable: his first 13 opponents had a combined record of 344-75-12, and he knocked out 9 of them!

What made Tszyu so special? Standing 5'7", he had an amazing, thickly muscled physique that spoke of his two greatest virtues: strength and power. He was a literal pocket Hercules, the kind of man only a fool would want to get in close and wrestle with in a clinch. On the outside, Tszyu wielded fearsome artillery in both hands. He also possessed a sound defense built up by years of hard work, toiling away in Soviet gyms for world amateur championships. Where many East European fighters are linear and robotic, Tszyu was a fluid wrecking machine. He also had a solid work ethic in the gym: unlike many fighters who allow themselves to gain a little weight as they grow older, Kostya Tszyu spent his entire career in the super lightweight division. His conditioning was always sound.

First Title Reign

26 years old and 13-0, Tszyu challenged for his first world title in 1995. IBF champion Jake Rodriquez was making the 3rd defense of his title, and while he had two losses to his name, one was very early in his career and the other was a points loss to hard punching Felix Trinidad. Certainly no one expected what happened. Tszyu knocked Rodriquez down in the 1st, and although unable to finish his man, Tszyu started piling on the points. Then came the dramatic 6th Round: Tszyu was cut over the eye, had a point deducted for holding and hitting, and knocked his opponent down four times en route to a stoppage victory.

For the next two years, Tszyu stayed busy and sustained a high quality of opposition. He decisioned Roger Mayweather, uncle of Floyd Mayweather, Jr.; knocked out fringe contender Hugo Pineda in the 11th; and crushed undefeated prospect Jan Diet Bergman in 6 Rounds.

Tszyu had made five defenses of his title, and was talked about as a serious threat to Oscar de la Hoya. Indeed, when de la Hoya later moved up to welterweight to challenge defensive master Pernell Whittaker, de la Hoya's critics charged that he was ducking Tszyu. It therefore came as a shocking upset to the boxing world when Vince Phillips scored a TKO victory over the undefeated Tszyu, live on HBO in May 1997. Two factors led to what became The Ring's 1997 Upset of the Year. For one, Tszyu's camp seriously misjudged Phillips as an opponent. Phillips had been undefeated at 140lbs, but had been unable to make any headway at getting into title contention at that weight. So, he moved up to 147lbs, where he met with only mixed success, losing three of eleven fights, including being knocked out by Ike "Bazooka" Quartey. That made him look like a fringe contender, but back at 140lbs he was in his tried-and-true element. The other factor was that Tszyu had become increasingly enamored with his power, leaving aside the boxing-punching style that had worked so well for him and increasingly looking to land the one big bomb that would finish the fight. Phillips could weather the power and exploit Tszyu's weaknesses, knocking him down in the 7th, stopping him in the 10th, and taking his title.

Back in the Saddle

If being stopped by Phillips daunted Tszyu in any way, he did not show it. His very first comeback fight was an eliminator for the WBC's super lightweight title, vacated by Oscar de la Hoya. He crushed Argentine Ismael Armando Chavez in 3 Rounds. However, his title shot was slow in coming, so in 1998 he kept busy with other fights: knocking out veteran Calvin Grove in the 1st; and stopping Mexican puncher Rafael Ruelas in the 9th. He then met the highly touted 28-1 Diosbelys Hurtado of Cuba, and surviving a see-saw 1st Round which saw Tszyu down twice and Hurtado once, Tszyu came back to knockout Hurtado in the 5th.

Tszyu had to wait almost a year, but his second try at a world title came in August 1999, against tough Mexican Miguel Angel Gonzalez. An undefeated lightweight champion, Gonzalez had moved up a division, and in two previous stabs at the WBC title had given both Oscar de la Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez all they could handle. Tszyu dominated the Mexican so thoroughly that Gonzalez's trainer had to climb up onto the ring apron in the10th to force a stoppage. Tszyu was now a two-time super lightweight champion.

Second Reign

Kostya Tszyu, now fighting mostly on the Showtime cable network, defended his title twice in 2000, including a bout with an aging Julio Cesar Chavez, winning both fights by knockout. Then came a chance to unify championships in a 2001 bout with WBA king Sharma Mitchell, a sizzling fast boxer-puncher from Washington, DC. It was an indecisive fight: although Tszyu was ahead on two scorecards, he was penalized a point for pushing in the 4th, and the fight was stopped because Mitchell badly injured a knee. The result called out for a rematch, but in the meantime Tszyu had both the green WBC and black WBA belts, and went looking to get his red IBF belt back.

After pounding out a successful title defense against the rugged Turko-German Oktay Urkal, Tszyu met the showboating, trash-talking IBF champion Zab Judah. Judah was a highly touted fighter at the time; while his chin was suspect, he was blindingly fast, had good skills, and good power. Judah's main problem was psychological: he lacked focus, even inside the ring, and his self-confidence was fragile. He came out using his speed and skills to outbox Tszyu in the 1st, making it look easy. Relaxing, he let his guard down and Tszyu walked right through him in the 2nd. Judah caught two hard rights that reduced his legs to gelatin; while he got to his feet, Judah quaked like a jellyfish and the referee wisely stopped the fight. Kostya Tszyu had unified the titles in decisive fashion, becoming the Undisputed World Super Lightweight Champion.

Tszyu took 2002 and 2003 relatively easy, defending his three belts first against the tough Ghanian Ben Tackie and beating out a clean points win. 2003 saw him meeting the challenge of veteran Jesse James Leija. Leija had to throw in the towel after a punch from Tszyu perforated his eardrum. It was Tszyu's last fight in Australia. Then in 2004, Tszyu gave Sharmba Mitchell his long-awaited rematch. Tszyu had wanted to hold the bout in Moscow, but he had injured his shoulder forcing a postponement and thus losing Moscow as a venue. Also, in the interim Tszyu had vacated the WBC and WBA titles, due to his inactivity. He still held his IBF belt, however, and continued to be regarded as the one true champ in his division. When they finally met again, Tszyu knocked Mitchell down four times en route to a 3rd Round stoppage. Tszyu finally got the dominating performance he had wanted in the first bout, so much so that footage from the Showtime-aired fight appeared on rival network HBO's highlights of the year, a first between the two networks.

Kostya Tszyu was 35 and nearing the end of his career, but looked invincible. In May 2005 he journeyed to Manchester and fought British star Ricky Hatton on his home growd. Many experts picked Tszyu, who as the stronger man in the ring was expected to out-muscle Hatton, push him back off his brawling game, and hammer him into submission. However, in a display of youth beating muscle, the hungry Hatton clung to Tszyu's belt buckle in an ugly fight, staying well inside the arc of Tszyu's power and refusing to be intimidated by his opponent's strength. Tired and frustrated, Tszyu quit on his stool in the 11th.

Semi-Retirement?

Following the loss to Ricky Hatton, Kostya Tszyu went into semi-retirement with a record of 35-2, 25KOs. Although he has not fought since, he has not ruled out a return to the ring. He stands as a popular national sports hero in Australia. Although involved in legal disputes with two former managers, he has enjoyed some success outside the ring. In 2004, an Australian biopic was made about Tszyu. He has also appeared on the Australian versions of Dancing with the Stars and Deal or No Deal, in a Russian movies in 2007, and has published an autobiography.

Sources: boxrec.com; Kostya Tszyu official website; The Ring magazine; personal experience