tszyu's legacy

I kind of wish the Zab fight wasn't stopped so early. He got off lightly, not like Gonzalez & Ruleas and many others. Kostya is a nice guy and always up for a chat.

i will remember kostya as a humble man, but fierce competitor. He wasnt cocky, he would just go in and get the job done and thats what i liked about him. :boxing:

Imagine Kostya versus Duran. Best fight EVER!!!

Would of been nice to see Tszyu fight more often, but he made up for it with quality. Totally destroyed a couple of extremely good fighters in Rafael Ruelas & Miguel Gonzales; Brutally overpowered prime Sharmba Mitchell the first time, destroyed him the 2nd; Flattened Zab Judah with one punch (who can ever forget the famous chicken dance); Destroyed over-the-hill Chavez in a way no-one has ever done; Had a wild shootout with Hurtado, finishing him in the 5th; Easily handled slightly past his prime Leija (who still had enough in the tank beat Bojado over a year & a half later); Gave Ben Tackie a boxing lesson, easily winning every round; as well as beating a number of very good challengers, in a very impressive fashion. No question he's one of the top 5 Junior-Welters of all time, & probably in the top 3. I wouldn't mention his win over Chavez, that fight shouldn't have been made. Chavez was a spent fighter, a punching bag with legs. I hope he comes back and goes out with a win. I don't care who he fights.

definitely an all time great and of only a few legitimate unified champs......... he fought the other champs and KO'd them alll.......... he didn't fight bums at all and his resume says that he fought about 13 world champions...and the rest highly ranked contenders.. Had some serious injuries late in his career which made him very inactive but you can't do much about that... All Time Great!

Would of been nice to see Tszyu fight more often, but he made up for it with quality. Totally destroyed a couple of extremely good fighters in Rafael Ruelas & Miguel Gonzales; Brutally overpowered prime Sharmba Mitchell the first time, destroyed him the 2nd; Flattened Zab Judah with one punch (who can ever forget the famous chicken dance); Destroyed over-the-hill Chavez in a way no-one has ever done; Had a wild shootout with Hurtado, finishing him in the 5th; Easily handled slightly past his prime Leija (who still had enough in the tank beat Bojado over a year & a half later); Gave Ben Tackie a boxing lesson, easily winning every round; as well as beating a number of very good challengers, in a very impressive fashion. No question he's one of the top 5 Junior-Welters of all time, & probably in the top 3.

Kostya destroyed some great fighters. Miguel Angel Gonzalez was never the same fighter after that fight. He is one of the Great 140 pounders. He owned Mitchel in their second fight. At one point he ruled that division. I wish he fought Gatti instead of Hatton.

It's the people around him.. He has/had way too many cheerleaders telling him: "Kos, you're the greatest ever!.. You have nothing left to prove.." He could have put his focus back in to the sport, but instead chose to take indefinate breaks, fatten up, and eventually appear on TV shows like "Dancing with the Stars.." Kostya has said on multiple occasions over the years that Boxing was not his primary concern.. He talks about money, fame, and his accomplishments.. He doesn't fight much. Never did. i dont agree with you entirely but u make fair points.. i think the quantity of bouts should be overlooked for the quality.. kostya's opponents had an accumulative record of 1070 wins for 130 losses.. a fair indicator that he didnt bother too much with the record fattening fights which would somewhat explain his inactivity. for now sure i agree he is less about boxing and more about the other facets of his life but when he was fightin reguarly he was all about fighting. he whole heartedly believed it was his destiny to unify the title and become the best 140lber of all time. i believe he achieved it.

I forgot that he fought that guy. Tszyu was poorly promoted in the states, they were giving away tickets to his Tackie fight. Being signed to Showtime was a mistake. HBO would have marketed the shit out him. Would a great get stopped by Phillips? Just a question not a smart ass comment? well i guess that is a question. i say he can still be a great despite this.. you have to remember that this fight happened in the middle of his court case with his former manager and tszyu never got the training he needed. i definitely agree that he would have been better served had he signed with HBO there was huge call for a fight between him and gatti and hte only thing stopping it was their commitment to the opposing networks.

how do you figure he had a 'lack of passion'? i guess he was fairly inactive towards the back end of his career.. but u do realise he had some very serious injureis in that time. sanpping his achilles tendon, tearing a shoulder muscle amongst others. It's the people around him.. He has/had way too many cheerleaders telling him: "Kos, you're the greatest ever!.. You have nothing left to prove.." He could have put his focus back in to the sport, but instead chose to take indefinate breaks, fatten up, and eventually appear on TV shows like "Dancing with the Stars.." Kostya has said on multiple occasions over the years that Boxing was not his primary concern.. He talks about money, fame, and his accomplishments.. He doesn't fight much. Never did.

he fought gonzales in august of that year and had his next fight in february. hardly a year. i just think with unifying the title and beatin the swathe of world champions that he did, not to mention winnin 259 of 270 amature fights.. u have to call him a great. I forgot that he fought that guy. Tszyu was poorly promoted in the states, they were giving away tickets to his Tackie fight. Being signed to Showtime was a mistake. HBO would have marketed the shit out him. Would a great get stopped by Phillips? Just a question not a smart ass comment?

This is pretty true. After beating Zab he was in the spotlight and instead of getting another big fight , he had a long lay off and fought Tackie. Same thing when he beat Gonzalez, had almost a year off after that fight. Kostya had the power of a Middle Weight, which made a lot of his fights exciting, but if he wasn't dominating a fighter, he's fights were pretty boring. I like him, but not a Great. He should have fought Mosley like he said he was going to do after Zab. he fought gonzales in august of that year and had his next fight in february. hardly a year. i just think with unifying the title and beatin the swathe of world champions that he did, not to mention winnin 259 of 270 amature fights.. u have to call him a great.

I think Kostya's legacy will be in question for me because of his lack of passion for the sport and his reflexive innactivity over the years.. how do you figure he had a 'lack of passion'? i guess he was fairly inactive towards the back end of his career.. but u do realise he had some very serious injureis in that time. sanpping his achilles tendon, tearing a shoulder muscle amongst others.

I think that he is looking to have one or two more fights. I've met him a couple of times since the Hatton loss, and he insists he doesn't want to go out on a loss. I see him either facing Lovemore Ndou next, or trying to get a title shot at welter weight.

I think Kostya's legacy will be in question for me because of his lack of passion for the sport and his reflexive innactivity over the years.. This is pretty true. After beating Zab he was in the spotlight and instead of getting another big fight , he had a long lay off and fought Tackie. Same thing when he beat Gonzalez, had almost a year off after that fight. Kostya had the power of a Middle Weight, which made a lot of his fights exciting, but if he wasn't dominating a fighter, he's fights were pretty boring. I like him, but not a Great. He should have fought Mosley like he said he was going to do after Zab.

I think Kostya's legacy will be in question for me because of his lack of passion for the sport and his reflexive innactivity over the years..

Credit for that. Best straight right in boxing. I can't think of any fighter whose straight punch was as devastating.