Prime Kostya Tszyu vs. Timothy Bradley @ 140

Tszyu fans have tried to convince themselves that the bigger names avoided Tszyu and the dead division that was 140. Tszyu was content with fighting mediocre mandatory challengers and steering away from the big money and the elite fighters. People see Tszyu as this great knockout artist and yet he wasn't.He was a sloppy,awkward fighter who thought his right hand was greater than it actually was. Tszyu isn't a pimple on the cheek of Chavez,Pryor,Cervantes or even a Nicolino Locche. I'm guessing you rate him highly perhaps ecause you're a Hatton fan. no its not because im a hatton fan! there are plenty of people that are not hatton fans that also rate him very highly. if you dont rate him, thats fine, im not gonna complain!

Bradley probably hasn't reached his peak yet, so i favor Tszyu currently. Maybe in a few years time, i may favor Bradley.

Not confident in Bradley avoiding Kostya's right hand for 12 rounds, nor his ability to take it once it inevitably landed. Kostya stops Bradley.

He is a fighter with balls and he is proving it by taking on tough oppenent after tough oppenent, ad i think he is improving too yeah but like i said i just dont see anything "Special" about him. He is not a puncher, he is small, so yeah i know why you would think that, that said i think its his dedication, balance, defence, heart, speed and brain is what sets him apart and makes it look more basic than what he actually is.

Agree to an extent, Bradley is getting smarter imo but he is also riding the crest of wave and i expect him to get beaten because he is taking on tough comp consistently. He is a fighter with balls and he is proving it by taking on tough oppenent after tough oppenent, ad i think he is improving too yeah but like i said i just dont see anything "Special" about him.

I agree that ZOO gets over rated but i still think he stops Tim who to me is getting over rated aswell now, he a belt holder thats it. Dont get me wrong i like him but i think he is gonna catch a beating within his next few fights Agree to an extent, Bradley is getting smarter imo but he is also riding the crest of wave and i expect him to get beaten because he is taking on tough comp consistently.

Bradley has too much versatility for Tszyu, who i believe was overrated. Tszyu was flat footed, could only fight from long range, was wide open to overhand rights, could not handle a fighter who got in the pocket or inside because he had no inside game. Bradley would probably use his speed, turn him, reset him, and pot shot his way to a decision imo. Tszyu's best win is Zab Judah. I agree that ZOO gets over rated but i still think he stops Tim who to me is getting over rated aswell now, he a belt holder thats it. Dont get me wrong i like him but i think he is gonna catch a beating within his next few fights

Yeah if you based it on his level of opposition, you can say it is too strong...but sometimes you just have observe what your watching and go with your gut instinct. Like I said for one reason or another those big fights never came off for him. That doesn't necessarily mean he couldn't compete with the best, but that comes down to a matter of opinion. You could make the same argument about many fighters down the years and disect there level of oppositilon. Mike Tyson is one that springs to mind, was his level of opposition all that great in his prime? Not really. Was he a pheonominal fighter at that time, in my opinion yes he was. As far as Tszyu goes, I suppose we agree to disagree Nah i agree he could definitely compete at that level if he had gotten the chance.

Sure. It happened, but all of my statements still stand regardless of that one loss. Pac's been KO'd, and that doesn't make him any less of a fighter. Benn lost to Watson in his prime, Watson was not the better fighter. Tyson lost to Douglas, does that negate the fact that he was the youngest HW champ in history, and his place as one of the greatest Heavies ever? It doesn't. The fact that you bring up Phillips has absolutely no bearing on Kostya's career, which speaks for itself. great post......!!!!

You make a fair post but i the parts i disagree on are.......... He was a pheonominal fighter at that weight. His longevity and unifying the division prove that. I think thats too strong considering his level of opposition. Maybe i was being a bit over the top saying Bradley would win but i think stylistically he has all the skills to give Tszyu issues but yeah maybe he is too green right now. I dont think Tszyu was the same fighter in the Pro's that he was when he fought in the amateurs, although i agree he looked spectacular against Forrest. Yeah if you based it on his level of opposition, you can say it is too strong...but sometimes you just have observe what your watching and go with your gut instinct. Like I said for one reason or another those big fights never came off for him. That doesn't necessarily mean he couldn't compete with the best, but that comes down to a matter of opinion. You could make the same argument about many fighters down the years and disect there level of oppositilon. Mike Tyson is one that springs to mind, was his level of opposition all that great in his prime? Not really. Was he a pheonominal fighter at that time, in my opinion yes he was. As far as Tszyu goes, I suppose we agree to disagree

You make some good points, and yeah maybe he lacked versatility, but so have many great fighters over the years, there have been many great one dimensional fighters, he shouldn't be compared to jones or mayweather who are atg's. He is what he is, one of the best 140 lbser's ever. He was a pheonominal fighter at that weight. His longevity and unifying the division prove that. He beat a lot of GOOD fighters, a couple of very good fighters. Yeah i agree he struggled against roger mayweather, but tszyu was matched pretty hard when he turned pro and it was a learning fight for him, for the record mayweather said he was the hardest puncher he had ever faced. His resume is solid if not unspectacular, but the big fights never really came off for him, the two would have been mosley and de la hoya, but oscar was always steered away from him and mosley jumped 140. Dont get me wrong I think tszyu would have probably lost both fights but they would have been fun, and it would have told us a lot more about how good he was. You say he was overrated, but I think Bradley is too green to beat a prime kostya, we will be able to guage this better in a few years, he has done nothing so far in his career that would lead me to believe that bradley-tszyu wouldn't end in anything but bradley being ko'd. His defence is too open. Yes he was flat footed but he made up for that with great upper body movement, as demonstrated beautifully against vernon forrest in the olympic finals. He had his flaws like most european fighters, he was weak on the inside, but a younger version of tszyu had the reflexes and speed to avoid these situations more or catch fighters coming in. I think your overall assessment is pretty fair but some of your critiscisms are a little harsh too, he ko'd an undefeated judah, to compare that to zab losing to baldomir is stupid. The flip side to that coin is he beat a much more dangerous zab, one who didn't know how to lose and beat him much more spectacularly than cotto, mayweather, etc. You make a fair post but i the parts i disagree on are.......... He was a pheonominal fighter at that weight. His longevity and unifying the division prove that. I think thats too strong considering his level of opposition. Maybe i was being a bit over the top saying Bradley would win but i think stylistically he has all the skills to give Tszyu issues but yeah maybe he is too green right now. I dont think Tszyu was the same fighter in the Pro's that he was when he fought in the amateurs, although i agree he looked spectacular against Forrest.

The responses in this thread co-sign the notion Tszyu was overrated, he is being made to look like some bat outta hell who can hit like Julian Jackson. He was open to overhand rights, he was flat footed, could not fight inside at all, got poleaxed by Vince Phillips, lost to Hatton and his best win is Zab Judah who lost to Baldomir, thats not fiction its fact, oh he does not hit as hard as people make out. Tszyu showed zero adaptability in his fight with Roger Mayweather, admittedly early in his career but i cant say i saw his adaptability improve all that much. I thought he looked uncomfortable against Leija when Leija stayed in the pocket against him, he got dropped by Hurtado. Im sorry i just dont see any versatility in Tszyu, he was a good amateur but he was not the same fighter in the pro's from what ive seen. He did not train right for Phillips by all accounts but he still showed as he did throughout his career that he was wide open to overhand right hands, he also should of had enough left to beat Hatton imo but he lost. Tszyu was a an elite fighter but he was the poorer relation of the elite fighters like a Joe Calzaghe, an A- type fighter more so than a A+ Mayweather/Jones. Maybe im taking it too far and he does beat Bradley but i cant say that i dont believe what i just posted about is not what i see when i watch him fight. You make some good points, and yeah maybe he lacked versatility, but so have many great fighters over the years, there have been many great one dimensional fighters, he shouldn't be compared to jones or mayweather who are atg's. He is what he is, one of the best 140 lbser's ever. He was a pheonominal fighter at that weight. His longevity and unifying the division prove that. He beat a lot of GOOD fighters, a couple of very good fighters. Yeah i agree he struggled against roger mayweather, but tszyu was matched pretty hard when he turned pro and it was a learning fight for him, for the record mayweather said he was the hardest puncher he had ever faced. His resume is solid if not unspectacular, but the big fights never really came off for him, the two would have been mosley and de la hoya, but oscar was always steered away from him and mosley jumped 140. Dont get me wrong I think tszyu would have probably lost both fights but they would have been fun, and it would have told us a lot more about how good he was. You say he was overrated, but I think Bradley is too green to beat a prime kostya, we will be able to guage this better in a few years, he has done nothing so far in his career that would lead me to believe that bradley-tszyu wouldn't end in anything but bradley being ko'd. His defence is too open. Yes he was flat footed but he made up for that with great upper body movement, as demonstrated beautifully against vernon forrest in the olympic finals. He had his flaws like most european fighters, he was weak on the inside, but a younger version of tszyu had the reflexes and speed to avoid these situations more or catch fighters coming in. I think your overall assessment is pretty fair but some of your critiscisms are a little harsh too, he ko'd an undefeated judah, to compare that to zab losing to baldomir is stupid. The flip side to that coin is he beat a much more dangerous zab, one who didn't know how to lose and beat him much more spectacularly than cotto, mayweather, etc.

who wins this? a prime tszyu would most likely decision bradley. theres also a possibility of late stoppage i think

iv not got time mate, im goin out in a min, but i thought it was common knowledge. And to be honest i didnt read it all, i just read the bit where you say he is overrated. thats fine tho, thats your opinion. But id challenge you to find somebody better than tszyu in the history of boxing as a light welterweight. there may be 1 or 2 but there wont be more! That is more on the strength(history) of the division though, which is not as strong as others, who ever you care to mention for the most part did not reign there as long as Tszyu so its hard to find many who were better than him and most importantly STAYED in the division for as long as he did, there were fighters who passed through who could of beaten him but if you bring them up then people will say "yeah but they did not prove enough at that particular weight because they did not stay there long enough" I have nothing against Tszyu and he was a terrific amateur but i dont see the versatility in him that others do and i think he was more than beatable with the right opponent.

KT by KO. Even the KT from the last Mitchel fight would have given Bradley problems. That laser right that seems to bend at just the right moment would have dissected Tim from round 3 and onwards. KT, if he ever remembers to box, is a beast. Bradley is still making a lot of mistake. 2 years down the line, we would have a better gauge of Bradley's skill. IMO, Tim is still not prime now. There is a lot more to improve. As soon as we see Tim's prime, this would have been a more appropriate question.

Pick holes in my argument, lets discuss if you have something to dispute about my post. iv not got time mate, im goin out in a min, but i thought it was common knowledge. And to be honest i didnt read it all, i just read the bit where you say he is overrated. thats fine tho, thats your opinion. But id challenge you to find somebody better than tszyu in the history of boxing as a light welterweight. there may be 1 or 2 but there wont be more!

Are you crazy or what! kostya tszyu is one of the best, if not the best light welterweight of all time. Pick holes in my argument, lets discuss if you have something to dispute about my post.

Are you crazy or what! kostya tszyu is one of the best, if not the best light welterweight of all time. Tszyu's boxing skills are fairly underrated, I think. Interestingly enough, he was known as a boxer before he turned pro.

The responses in this thread co-sign the notion Tszyu was overrated, he is being made to look like some bat outta hell who can hit like Julian Jackson. He was open to overhand rights, he was flat footed, could not fight inside at all, got poleaxed by Vince Phillips, lost to Hatton and his best win is Zab Judah who lost to Baldomir, thats not fiction its fact, oh he does not hit as hard as people make out. Tszyu showed zero adaptability in his fight with Roger Mayweather, admittedly early in his career but i cant say i saw his adaptability improve all that much. I thought he looked uncomfortable against Leija when Leija stayed in the pocket against him, he got dropped by Hurtado. Im sorry i just dont see any versatility in Tszyu, he was a good amateur but he was not the same fighter in the pro's from what ive seen. He did not train right for Phillips by all accounts but he still showed as he did throughout his career that he was wide open to overhand right hands, he also should of had enough left to beat Hatton imo but he lost. Tszyu was a an elite fighter but he was the poorer relation of the elite fighters like a Joe Calzaghe, an A- type fighter more so than a A+ Mayweather/Jones. Maybe im taking it too far and he does beat Bradley but i cant say that i dont believe what i just posted about is not what i see when i watch him fight. Are you crazy or what! kostya tszyu is one of the best, if not the best light welterweight of all time.

Bradley doesn't have the power to do what a Vince Phillips did. And Tszyu, while known as a heavy hitter, wasn't a bad boxer either. And was pretty quick handed. With loads of experience, both amateur and professional. Maybe a couple years down the line Bradley improves and can beat a seasoned guy like Kostya but I just don't see it. Tszyu UD12