Do you think Kostya Tszyu would have...

Yup. Went from 135 right to 147 skipping Junior Welter all together. That's because Shane went after O$car for the WW title. Shane was killing himself making 135 and when he saw the opportunity to go to WW, he moved. I think he said he was basically killing himself bad to make lightweight that +5 pounds wasn't enticing...but 147 was...especially with Oscar there. Tszyu lost his shot when he lost to Phillips. O$car was who everybody chased. Tszyu could have moved up to 147 when the division was hot with Oscar, Shane, Tito, and Forrest...but he didn't.

mosley ducked him apparently Yup. Went from 135 right to 147 skipping Junior Welter all together.

there's always been a lot of americans with russian descent. it's just when you think russian-american you're thinking of russian born that immigrated here. that was more recent with the fall of the soviet union. i think they could have played the russian/korean-american angle. russians and koreans might not be as numerous but one benefit is that they are usually concentrated in certain areas. unlike other ethnicities they're not spread out all over america. It's still not a certainty that he would've developed a fanbase in the US. He had the support of almost all of Austrlia when he fought if I'm not mistaken and I think he's still held in high regard over there. Considering the time in which he turned pro and the offers that were offered to him, I think Australia was a good choice for him.

exposure in the u.s. and being based in the u.s. is not the same thing. he could have built up a fanbase in america if he started there. he never got a real fanbase established in america. It's hard to say if he would've been able to build a fanbase in the US, they would've had to market him to the Russian population back then and I don't believe there were as many Russians in the US as there are now, I mean even now a Russian born boxer based in the US isn't catching fire there in Matvey Korobov. Australia was a good decision from him.

Why do people say he didn't get enough exposure in the US? He had nearly as many fights in the US as he had in Australia, he had like 15 fights in the US and spent most of his second, and most defining, reign there. He honestly shot himself in the foot in regards to fights against Mosley and DLH, if he had took training seriously and not fallen in love with his power and beaten Phillips, he would've fought DLH, the fight was all but signed at the point. Very true. He actually did it twice since it was talked about if he would beat Hatton he would get a shot at Oscar.

i agree. i give manny a better chance against mayweather than a prime tszyu at 140 tbh. mayweather might be better than kostya but i'm willing to bet there's a better chance of pacquiao going to sleep against kostya than against floyd. ye no doubt,its all about styles and their were few who could compete with Zoo

kostya should have moved to the united states instead of australia. get some initial fan support from russian and korean americans. with an american promoter and american tv behind him , he could have been a big name star. then we would have seen the mosley's , mayweather's , delahoya's , etc. not skip him at 140. :lol1::beerchug: you sound like me. I never meant it as a disrespect to Australia but I too believed Tszyu should have come to the States. He picked Australia I think because he was offered a contract to turn pro as well as likening the environment in Australia which is hard to refuse. The fan base and treatment is great over there if we go by other sports stars, specifically with Tennis which seems to be the favorite of many stars when discussing which place is the best out of the Grand-Slam Tournaments. It was good for him in the end because he grew a big fan base and Australia supported him and helped give him a better life. But I just feel as far as boxing goes, the US may have been a better place for him. He would have been around the scene and may have had a bigger itch to stay active and continued to get better. Maybe even another trainer of course that could help him out and keep him on a high level and not slip. I think his fan base would have been big over here considering the amount of Russians and Koreans (if they were to try to tag that along). He was a superb boxer who was exciting which makes an easy sell to the public. And of course big name opponents, specifically victories over them would boost his name up. Now if he could have beaten Oscar and Shane...that's debatable.

Ah the legend of Kostya Tszyu. Sometimes when I read these threads I have to remember that Tszyu wasn't actually the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Why do people say he didn't get enough exposure in the US? He had nearly as many fights in the US as he had in Australia, he had like 15 fights in the US and spent most of his second, and most defining, reign there. He honestly shot himself in the foot in regards to fights against Mosley and DLH, if he had took training seriously and not fallen in love with his power and beaten Phillips, he would've fought DLH, the fight was all but signed at the point.

his timing was great and of course the power (even at amateur with the pillow gloves and headgear) that's why pac would have a tough time with kostya. kostya's money punch is the right too......killer against southpaws. too be honest i couldnt think of a worse style match-up for manny in and around the 140lb division

Kostya Tszyu as an amateur had some of the best boxing skills you'll see. He just changed his style when he turned pro and then fell in love with his power when he started knocking guys out.

tszyu is terribly underrated. his boxing skills were superb. of course a lot of these guys that never saw his fights think he's just some slugger. olympic boxing. the best showcase of just pure boxing skills. where power and stamina plays little factor. Well I still like the timing and power combo even as an amateur :D a Southpaw from the Philippines

tszyu is terribly underrated. his boxing skills were superb. of course a lot of these guys that never saw his fights think he's just some slugger. olympic boxing. the best showcase of just pure boxing skills. where power and stamina plays little factor. he absolutely schooled forrest who is another very under-rated guy with lots of skill tsyzu was a great fighter

since when was kostya slow? he's not the fastest guy in the world but he's hardly slow. LMAO :lol1: This is PRIME TSZYU with all of his abilities working

Absolutely. Actually think it's a bad style matchup for Manny. Tszyu could take a shot and he could dish one out. Plus, he worked extremely well from the outside. Miss that guy.. and to add... tzyu had that heat seeking straight right that was just brutal

i fail??...tell me why tsyu lost to hatton...nuff said.. and tell me why hatton lost to pacman.. fight explains it all... Tszyu was 35+ and had only fought 9 rounds in 3 years because he went through a couple surgeries on his shoulder and achilles tendon...besides just not being a very active fighter which I believe hurt him as well. Hatton wrestled him all night to wear him out which it did. By the mid-rounds Tszyu was already breathing through his mouth and I was even surprised he lasted as long as he did fighting the way he did. He was taking shot after shot with his mouth wide open and still didn't go down. Tszyu was talked about being past his prime even when he fought Judah. He was slowing down even then but his timing and power remained to keep him going. With Phillips, he fought poorly. He abandoned his boxing skills for a toe to toe war...taking punch for punch. He loved his power way to much at that point. One thing I thought with Tszyu is it was always better for him to feel like the underdog because when he wasn't, he believed the hype machine and got careless. Why did Pac get knocked out twice and put down several times more. Why did he lose to a past prime Morales? It happens. One of the main things people are looking at in Favor of Kostya Tszyu is that he can time an opponent and throw a straight right, right down the middle. Considering Pac leaps in with his punches and leaves himself open and off balance most of the time when he does that...it could spell for a disaster with a puncher like Tszyu. Tszyu also has a nice left-hook which also would be a good weapon against a Southpaw...as seen in many of his fights as well as the Mitchell II fight when it was healed (as much as it could be). Pac's advantage would be speed and work-rate but that could also be cut short when he starts taking punches back.

i fail??...tell me why tsyu lost to hatton...nuff said.. and tell me why hatton lost to pacman.. fight explains it all... haha triangle theories dont work in boxing,its called styles make fights,for example mosley,cotto,marg or taylor/pavlik/bhop too name a few we are talking about prime tsyzu here,dont get confused

i call BULLSHIT...tszyu slow speed will get hit 100000x b4 he knows he's been hit... you fail "peeleft:

kostya > pac at 140 anyone who says otherwise doesnt know s*it about boxing,so dont bother replying too me children.

The things your missing is he never fought anybody of Pacs ability no one even close and he got beat by fighters Pac would demolish , Floyd would beat him easier than Pac , go and look at the Phillips fight , the lightweight Leija fight and also the Hector Lopez fight and then tell me Pac cant win . You are ridiculous just end your posts to this now. You need to go look at KTs record realize how many champions and ex-champions are on his resume. Now add the fact that DLH, Mosley, and Mayweather wanted nothing to with this guy. Mosley outright skipped the division. He never fought at 140, who ducked who? Mayweather had his shot and truly respected KT, even said so in an interview that was shown around here. Mayweather had a short career at 140. DLH was never as good as we made him out to be, he lost to Quartey IMO. DLH may not have had a shot at KT. DLH had a short lived 140 pound life. You need to go rewatch this guy in his prime he was a Professional, systematic and slowly but steadily took your weapons away. Second Judah is far more talented then Pac(at 140). He had devastating one punch power at 140. Not punches in bunches but Judah could literally hit you with one punch and end the fight. Pac is strong and impressive but punch for punch Judah hit harder and may have even been faster. Judah never had a brain but he was extremely talented. Throw Pac in with a Shramba Mitchell, a confident 23 year old Judah, a prime KT, Pac just would have his hands full. You seem to have no idea what was going on at 140 during that time period. KT ruled that division NO QUESTIONS ASKED. Pac has never once had that. Say all you want Pac has never unified belts and beat all contenders coming his way. He has left questions after leaving every division, no questions could be asked about 140 for his reign we all knew who ruled it. Now go look at the Phillips fight and realize that Phillips used his size and he was a right hander two things that would work in favor of him and not in favor of Pac. Pac is not stronger then Phillips. This is a bad stylistic match up. Think Marquez-Pac now add a one hit home run punch to Marquez and think of what would have happened to Pac. Mitchell was very slick, quick, lil pop, and very smart south paul, KT says good night. Judah fast, quick, slick, and a ton of power south paul, KT says good night. I fear Pac would get KO'd perhaps have his career crushed like Judah, Mitchell, and so many others. You have to realize KT has probably the hardest punch ever at the 140 pound division. I do not think he was the best 140 pounder ever that is crazy with guys like The Hawk, Duran, JCC, Sweet Pea, you can't give him that title, but he does deserve to be recognized as a 140 pound great regardless. Please stop posting against this as you appear to be nothing more then a boxing novice with your unintelligent poorly researched statements.