By Rick Reeno
A popular trend in the sport of boxing continues. A fighter loses an important bout and looks for a scapegoat to blame for the loss. Tszyu has fired longtime friend and trainer Johnny Lewis. The two men have been close friends for over 13 years.
Former unified junior welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu, was stopped this past Saturday by Britain's Ricky Hatton. Tszyu, the ruler of the junior welterweights for close to a decade, was unable to come out of his corner and answer the bell for the final round of the bout. According to Las Vegas odds, Tszyu was a 4-1 betting favorite to win the fight.
Matt Watt, the manager of Tszyu, said that it was Lewis who wanted to stop the fight and not Tszyu. Watt claims that Tszyu was ready, willing and able to continue.
"Kostya wanted to continue but Lewis felt that he was losing the fight. It wasn't Kostya's decision to end the fight. He would have never stopped his own fight. Tszyu's promoter Vlad Warton was quoted as saying by Sovietsky Sport newspaper.
