Dear Tszyu Crew,

The time has finally arrived and this weekend I travel to Manchester in the UK for my fight with the IBF No.1 contender Ricky Hatton at the MEN Arena in the early hours of June 5 local time. I am looking forward to this fight with Ricky and I am excited!

My training has been very good. I have had four or five different sparring partners and the boys have been very helpful. They did some great work to the best of their abilities and helped me a lot.

The support from you the Tszyu Crew has been tremendous and I have enjoyed reading your emails and our live chats in the Forum at www.KostyaTszyu.com. There is great confidence amongst all the people around me and my team has worked very hard and there is not much more to do. The mental preparation is always there and I will be sharpening a few things over the final two weeks. Nearly all the work is done and my body is very fit and I am ready for this challenge.

Being at your best is all about desire. I have seen many fighters come to this final stage of their career where they start finding shortcuts in training and in preparation. If you have done everything, you can say I can do this a bit differently now. This is the first mistake you can make. I am training the same way I have trained years ago. Even harder and I have no excuses for myself.

After fighting in Australia and the USA my entire professional career, defending my world title in Manchester is going to be something different. I haven’t fought in Europe for so many years and I have to show my best abilities over there. I am World Champion and I have to show all the world why I am the World champion. I have to fight anywhere, anytime and be ready.

My team has arranged a dinner for me on my return to Australia after the fight with Ricky Hatton. On Friday 10th June 2005 I will be at the Panthers World of Entertainment in Penrith, NSW. More details are available from my website www.KostyaTszyu.com and tickets can be purchased via email: oliver@helpinghand.com.au or by telephone: (61 2) 8338 8755.

Some people have said that because I have not fought many rounds over the last few years it will work against me, but I see it as an advantage as I am a fresh 35 year-old. I am the world champion who is willing to fight and who has big desire. I can make this fight with Ricky Hatton very easy for me, or I can make this fight very hard for myself. I have been doing boxing for 27 years and I have fought against opponents with a similar style and I beat them. I am confident in myself. Confident in the way I have trained and the way I have prepared myself.

Remember the Tszyu Crew rules always!


Your champion,

Kostya Tszyu.

Undisputed Super Lightweight Champion of the World

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That last paragraph is VERY interesting!

Tszyu better win. That's all I know. Judah should be the one to beat his punk ass.

Tszyu better win. That's all I know. Judah should be the one to beat his punk ass.
Yeah... Judah's always gonna have that nasty black mark on his resume. If he'd have just lost, it wouldn't be so bad, but it's the fact that not only did he get heavily knocked out, he threw a temper tantrum after!

He does need to avenge the Tszyu loss... But To be honest, I don't think he'll be able to beat Kostya Tszyu.

Styles make fights... Ricky Hatton's style is the kinda style you need to beat Kostya Tszyu (I'm not saying that Ricky will win). - I think that Zab Judah's style is just made for Kostya Tszyu, and a rematch between the two would end in the same way as the 1st.

Kostya is just superior against any and all styles so far..........He is one hell of a computer in the ring with two sledge hammer hands..........

The only person who i think would have a chance would be Mayweather, and this only and only by running and by points.

Kostya Tszyu is a legend.

Kostya is just superior against any and all styles so far..........He is one hell of a computer in the ring with two sledge hammer hands..........

The only person who i think would have a chance would be Mayweather, and this only and only by running and by points.

Kostya Tszyu is a legend.
I do agree with you... But I do think that Ricky Hatton has a chance of dethroning King Kostya.

Simply because of Ricky's style... (Very fast paced - and he ties the opponent up a lot) Which Kostya doesn't like.

That said, read the last paragraph of his letter to the fans... Kinda makes me worry as a Hatton fan!

Yeah... Judah's always gonna have that nasty black mark on his resume. If he'd have just lost, it wouldn't be so bad, but it's the fact that not only did he get heavily knocked out, he threw a temper tantrum after!

He does need to avenge the Tszyu loss... But To be honest, I don't think he'll be able to beat Kostya Tszyu.

Styles make fights... Ricky Hatton's style is the kinda style you need to beat Kostya Tszyu (I'm not saying that Ricky will win). - I think that Zab Judah's style is just made for Kostya Tszyu, and a rematch between the two would end in the same way as the 1st.
Wouldn't be so sure. Zab made the mistake of moving straight back with his hands down when he was knocked out, and he probably did so because he was overconfident. After all, he did extremely well in the first round, out-speeding and tagging Kostya with nice uppercuts.
I don't really buy the "he don't get rematch because he didn't behave himself last time" crap from Tszyu either.

In my mind, Tszyu came across as a little desperate in the second round, jumping in punches and neglecting defence. I think Kostya knows Zab will present a hell of a challenge the next time around.

Don't get me wrong here, Kostya is on top 3 on my favorite fighter list, but this is just the way my mind sees it.

Wouldn't be so sure. Zab made the mistake of moving straight back with his hands down when he was knocked out, and he probably did so because he was overconfident. After all, he did extremely well in the first round, out-speeding and tagging Kostya with nice uppercuts.
I don't really buy the "he don't get rematch because he didn't behave himself last time" crap from Tszyu either.

In my mind, Tszyu came across as a little desperate in the second round, jumping in punches and neglecting defence. I think Kostya knows Zab will present a hell of a challenge the next time around.

Don't get me wrong here, Kostya is on top 3 on my favorite fighter list, but this is just the way my mind sees it.
Ohh, I reckon Zab Judah will be a VERY tough fight for Kostya Tszyu!... And I think Zab Judah will win a lot of the early rounds, but I get the feeling that Kostya Tszyu will eventually catch up with Zab and knock him out again.

(People said that Tito will eventually catch up with Wright and knock him out... I think there's a WORLD of difference between Tszyu and Tito).

And Zab Judah, may think he has the most awesome skills in boxing, but he CAN be hit... Corey Spinks put Judah on his ass and I rate Tszyu a lot higher than Spinks.

Also I believe that Corey can put you down and you'll get a second chance because he doesn't hit very hard... where as Kostya Tszyu's got a punch like a kick from a mule!

Zab Judah got banned for a year etc, for his childish actions after the 1st fight, so he's done his time... I wouldn't buy the "He doesn't deserve a 2nd chance, ****" either!

One other thing about the Tzyu Judah fight. Judah hit Tzyu with one of his finest uppercuts in the first round and it did not do a whole lot of damage to Tzyu. Tzyu KO'd Judah with just 1 right hand. And Judah must have a problem with his chin if he is able to be knocked down twice by Corey Spinks. And dropped on one punch from Tzyu. You cant fight a puncher like Tzyu unless you can take a good punch.

One other thing about the Tzyu Judah fight. Judah hit Tzyu with one of his finest uppercuts in the first round and it did not do a whole lot of damage to Tzyu. Tzyu KO'd Judah with just 1 right hand. And Judah must have a problem with his chin if he is able to be knocked down twice by Corey Spinks. And dropped on one punch from Tzyu. You cant fight a puncher like Tzyu unless you can take a good punch.
I think Tszyu would win a second match-up too, eventually...
All I'm saying is that I don't think it would be another blow-out like last time. I actually think Judah would lead on the scorecards most of the fight, right up until he would get overwhelmed by Kostya in the middle-late rounds.
But it's a big risk for Kostya to take, because it's not certain that he will catch up, even if it's most likely.

I think Kostya know somewhere inside of him that another fight with Zab could cost him dearly at this point. I always thought Zab managed to hit him clean almost at will last time, with Kostya being too slow to do anything about it. The millimeter-presicion he relies on in dodging punches with an open guard seems to be fading.
In addition, I think he's fallen more and more in love with his power to the point that he relies on it, with the only exception being his fight with Ben Tackie.

That's why I see Tszyu getting hit with lots of hard, clean punches through the fight, relying only on his power and pressure to beat Zab. I don't know if Kostya is willing to take that risk this late in his career. After all, he doesn't need Zab.

I think that Zab Judah's downfall in his career is gonna be his chin.

I think it'll catch up with him sooner or later.

Martin, thats what me and Zab are banking on people thinking, that he's got a ****ty chin. I want everyone thinking that and saying that. If it is said enough, people'll keep buying it as reason enough to fight Judah. Then we'll see them be unable to land those punches.

One of the biggest bs things about Tszyu is that he ducks people like a *****. Look how many times he pulled out against both Judah and Mitchell. I don't buy all those bull**** injuries. Not for a second. And they try claiming that Judah said no rematches before the first match took place. Umm...who the **** ever talks about rematches before the first one happens? Judah said Winner Takes all, which simply meant he wanted the winner to get all the titles and the purse money. That doesn't include "no rematches" too, as most of Tszyu's supporters try to say.

The fight was stopped with controversy. If Tszyu were a real man, he'd have given Judah a rematch. But, he refused, trying to say he was just making Judah wait. That's bull****. He never intended on fighting Judah again. Only way he will now is if he gets brave enough to go up to welterweight.

See this is how I could see a Tszyu vs. Judah rematch getting made. Tszyu beats Hatton in a couple weeks. Judah has his match July 23 on the king ppv, another mandatory probably, easy win. Then he fights DLH in September. Tszyu says he wants the DLH vs. Judah winner, thinking DLH will win and it'll be a huge payday. But, DLH doesn't win when Judah shocks the world and embarrasses DLH, sending the Golden Boy into retirement (though I hope Oscar don't retire and just blames the weight and his trainers, which could set up Floyd vs. DLH)...

So Tszyu is then obligated to fight Judah. He finds himself either having to fight Judah or Mayweather. Knowing Mayweather would kick his ass all day, and knowing Judah could make the same mistake, he takes Judah instead. Zab kicks Tszyu's ass in one round, retiring the bum, and making me the happiest guy on the planet.

Will it go down like that? Probably not at all, that's my ideal situation really.

Nice fairytale though

Sheriff Lucas Buck, It's a nice story... But very unlikely. ;)

P.S... I don't think there was anything controversial about the Tszyu vs Judah stoppage. If you count 1-10 he's barely on his feet at 10 seconds, let alone in a position to continue fighting.

I don't think Tszyu's been ducking anyone. :dunno:

That's why I see Tszyu getting hit with lots of hard, clean punches through the fight, relying only on his power and pressure to beat Zab. I don't know if Kostya is willing to take that risk this late in his career. After all, he doesn't need Zab.

Fighting Hatton is alot bigger risk to Tzyu than fighting Judah. He already knows he can deal with Judah easy.

I gotta question... When Tarver knocked out Roy Jones Junior, suddenly Tarver was No.#2 on everyone's P4P lists. Everyone justified it with - "I'm a strong believer in, You gotta beat the man to be the man".

A lot of people have Kostya Tszyu No.#3 or #4 on their P4P lists... So "IF" Ricky Hatton beats Kostya Tszyu in 2 weeks time, will he automatically become P4P No.#3 or #4 ???

I gotta question... When Tarver knocked out Roy Jones Junior, suddenly Tarver was No.#2 on everyone's P4P lists. Everyone justified it with - "I'm a strong believer in, You gotta beat the man to be the man".

A lot of people have Kostya Tszyu No.#3 or #4 on their P4P lists... So "IF" Ricky Hatton beats Kostya Tszyu in 2 weeks time, will he automatically become P4P No.#3 or #4 ???

I dont know, You will have to ask ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America to find out what criteria they use to lay down their P4P rankings. I really dont know.

I would assume they would put him in the top 10 P4P.

hhhmmmm?... I was thinking, As a HUGE Ricky Hatton fan -

" :rolleyes: Ricky Hatton P4P No.3 in the World??? Interesting!"

... LOL!...

Martin, thats what me and Zab are banking on people thinking, that he's got a ****ty chin. I want everyone thinking that and saying that. If it is said enough, people'll keep buying it as reason enough to fight Judah. Then we'll see them be unable to land those punches.

One of the biggest bs things about Tszyu is that he ducks people like a *****. Look how many times he pulled out against both Judah and Mitchell. I don't buy all those bull**** injuries. Not for a second. And they try claiming that Judah said no rematches before the first match took place. Umm...who the **** ever talks about rematches before the first one happens? Judah said Winner Takes all, which simply meant he wanted the winner to get all the titles and the purse money. That doesn't include "no rematches" too, as most of Tszyu's supporters try to say.

The fight was stopped with controversy. If Tszyu were a real man, he'd have given Judah a rematch. But, he refused, trying to say he was just making Judah wait. That's bull****. He never intended on fighting Judah again. Only way he will now is if he gets brave enough to go up to welterweight.

See this is how I could see a Tszyu vs. Judah rematch getting made. Tszyu beats Hatton in a couple weeks. Judah has his match July 23 on the king ppv, another mandatory probably, easy win. Then he fights DLH in September. Tszyu says he wants the DLH vs. Judah winner, thinking DLH will win and it'll be a huge payday. But, DLH doesn't win when Judah shocks the world and embarrasses DLH, sending the Golden Boy into retirement (though I hope Oscar don't retire and just blames the weight and his trainers, which could set up Floyd vs. DLH)...

So Tszyu is then obligated to fight Judah. He finds himself either having to fight Judah or Mayweather. Knowing Mayweather would kick his ass all day, and knowing Judah could make the same mistake, he takes Judah instead. Zab kicks Tszyu's ass in one round, retiring the bum, and making me the happiest guy on the planet.

Will it go down like that? Probably not at all, that's my ideal situation really.


a) Judah said 'no rematch - the loser gets a job at a gas station'
b) Tszyu's injuries were legit
c) Judah has a ****ty chin. Sorry mate.
d) Tszyu has the best resume of any 140 fighter, and never gets accused of ducking, except by a person with a gay Zab Judah cartoon in his sig
e) If Tszyu is a bum, your hero got knocked down twice (would have been three times if Nady didn't hold him up) by a bum with one punch. How embarrasing for your hero.
f) A little too much of your happiness is dependent on how another man performs when not wearing a shirt. :p

A lot of people have Kostya Tszyu No.#3 or #4 on their P4P lists... So "IF" Ricky Hatton beats Kostya Tszyu in 2 weeks time, will he automatically become P4P No.#3 or #4 ???

If Tarver can get top 5 p4p for taking advantage of an old, weight-drained Roy Jones, then Hatton definitely gets to be top 5 p4p for beating Tszyu (if he does) considering Tszyu looked great in his last fight and has had a great camp also.

If Hatton wins you got a p4p list that looks like this for me:

1) Hopkins
1a) Mayweather
3) Winky Wright
4) Ricky Hatton
5) Diego Corrales

(something like that anywho)

There are fighters that just have your number. Like MAB over Morales, Forrest over Mosley and Tszyu over Judah. Watch the second round of Tszyu Judah fight. Kostya was controlling the pace of a fight with his jab and left hook the whole second round, but what happened to Zab if he started so strong possibly wobbling Tszyu with that uppecut(beautiful uppercut it was) and now he is all cautious to get in and land on Tszyu. Thats because he already tasted Tszyu's power in first round. Kostya only hit him with a couple of shirt right hands and that totally changed the whole pace of a fight. Now what would tell you that its gonna be any different in a rematch. Zab grew a mayorga chin?
As far as I know, nope. OR do you think he can avoid tszyu punches the whole fight? I dont think so, nobody did and nobody will.

Like MAB over Morales, Forrest over Mosley and Tszyu over Judah.

That's not really that solid. Forrest has Mosley's number, sure, but MAB doesn't really have Erik's. Many people feel Erik could have won and will win another fight if they fight again because he wasn't in the shape he was vs pacquiao when he fought MAB the 3rd time, and he got into a brawl when he could have outboxed MAB at times. Also, Erik has beaten MAB once. When someone has your number you never beat them.

Also, it's been a while since Judah and Tszyu have fought. Judah looks more focused plus he is bigger these days. Tszyu has only beaten him once so no one knows if Tszyu has Judah's number because he hasn't proven it yet by beating him twice decisively.

Hatton is gonna get destroyed...

He might pressure Tszyu but Tszyu will just land that right hand and drop him like a sack of potatoes

tzyu will win, then he should whup zab judah again.

That's not really that solid. Forrest has Mosley's number, sure, but MAB doesn't really have Erik's. Many people feel Erik could have won and will win another fight if they fight again because he wasn't in the shape he was vs pacquiao when he fought MAB the 3rd time, and he got into a brawl when he could have outboxed MAB at times. Also, Erik has beaten MAB once. When someone has your number you never beat them.

Also, it's been a while since Judah and Tszyu have fought. Judah looks more focused plus he is bigger these days. Tszyu has only beaten him once so no one knows if Tszyu has Judah's number because he hasn't proven it yet by beating him twice decisively.
Ok. if you dont like my MAB over Morales example, lets use Winky over Tito or Foreman over Frazier is that good enough?

Ok. if you dont like my MAB over Morales example, lets use Winky over Tito or Foreman over Frazier is that good enough?

Id' say we have a winner! lol

Foreman *****-smacked Frazier and totaly owned him and same for Winky over Tito.

I do agree with you... But I do think that Ricky Hatton has a chance of dethroning King Kostya.

Simply because of Ricky's style... (Very fast paced - and he ties the opponent up a lot) Which Kostya doesn't like.

That said, read the last paragraph of his letter to the fans... Kinda makes me worry as a Hatton fan!
i agree with you too.......because of the combing factors; age, home advantage, and styles......

there is a 10 year age advantage, and even though Kostya says he feels strong, the contributing factors could make he feel 36 once he actually enters the ring.....

i would like to see hatton win and them having a rematch perhaps in sydney.....although personally i can see tszyu retiring regardless of the outcome......he has cash, respect, etc, and he'll call it a day.

There are fighters that just have your number. Like MAB over Morales, Forrest over Mosley and Tszyu over Judah. Watch the second round of Tszyu Judah fight. Kostya was controlling the pace of a fight with his jab and left hook the whole second round, but what happened to Zab if he started so strong possibly wobbling Tszyu with that uppecut(beautiful uppercut it was) and now he is all cautious to get in and land on Tszyu. Thats because he already tasted Tszyu's power in first round. Kostya only hit him with a couple of shirt right hands and that totally changed the whole pace of a fight. Now what would tell you that its gonna be any different in a rematch. Zab grew a mayorga chin?
As far as I know, nope. OR do you think he can avoid tszyu punches the whole fight? I dont think so, nobody did and nobody will.
Zab Judah has/had a tendency to fight one round on, one round off. See against Jan Bergman, where Zab knocked him down two times in the first round, bull-charging Bergman like a maniac, only to fall asleep in the two next rounds. One in which he was floored.
If you look at the punch stats, you can see Zab taking the second round off compared to the first, which led to Tszyu could unleash his punches.

I think Judah has matured enough to avoid running around the ring, hands down and smiling to Tszyu a second time around.

People could talk all day about who will win, i for one am waiting, and i will be betting my points on judah

I am a huge fan of a 100% focused zab, one of the best fighters in the world.

i agree with you too.......because of the combing factors; age, home advantage, and styles......

there is a 10 year age advantage, and even though Kostya says he feels strong, the contributing factors could make he feel 36 once he actually enters the ring.....

i would like to see hatton win and them having a rematch perhaps in sydney.....although personally i can see tszyu retiring regardless of the outcome......he has cash, respect, etc, and he'll call it a day.
You couldn't have put that better man... Kostya Tszyu may feel like a million dollers in training and sparring at the moment, but it'll be a different ball game when he get's in the ring with a young, hungry, Hatton... (And Hatton is treating this fight as his destiny!).

All these guy's like Oliviera/Stewert/Tackie/Phillips/Magee etc.. After fighting Ricky Hatton said they were never expecting him to be so strong, and they were suprised that how he was able to keep such a relentless pace up!

I hope Kostya Tszyu says the same thing after their fight on 4th June! :D

You couldn't have put that better man... Kostya Tszyu may feel like a million dollers in training and sparring at the moment, but it'll be a different ball game when he get's in the ring with a young, hungry, Hatton... (And Hatton is treating this fight as his destiny!).

All these guy's like Oliviera/Stewert/Tackie/Phillips/Magee etc.. After fighting Ricky Hatton said they were never expecting him to be so strong, and they were suprised that how he was able to keep such a relentless pace up!

I hope Kostya Tszyu says the same thing after their fight on 4th June! :D
come on ricky.
make the boxing world sit up and take real notice