Tszyu vs De La Hoya & others, how come it didn't happen?

[Guest]

I have Tszyu's career on dvd and i wanted to mention about the phillips loss and his style that people often misinturpret

Slow hands- the first half of his career Kostya was lightning quick, i think he lost some of the speed as he naturally filled out and gained more muscle (like Tyson post prison)

His style- if you've seen his amateur stuff and early career his defense and in particular his counter punching ability was absolutely phenomenal but as he fell in love with scoring k.o.'s more (Mclellan) he stopped using alot of his skill, that's what led to his loss in the Phillips fight
(he says this himself in one of his post fight interview a fight or two after Phillips fight)

After that loss he re-dedicated himself and focused on using all of his ability rather than just rely on his power
you can see this in his fights post Phillips

My only complaint with Kostya was his spell of inactivity after Judah.

[We want Floyd]

The hell, you think Kostya had speed he was average. Tito had faster hands

Why don't you ask Zab Judah, one of the fastest cats around, how fast Tszyu's laser right was(lol)

[Flawless 2]

Why don't you ask Zab Judah, one of the fastest cats around, how fast Tszyu's laser right was(lol)

Let's ask Phillips how fast Kostya was. He hit Judah when Judah got ****y and it him while his hands were down. BIG WOW.

[Benny Leonard]

Kostya was set to fight Oscar if he beat Phillips; he didn't. Oscar went to 147 fought Whitaker. Eventually fought: TITO.

Shane Mosley was still setting a legacy at lightweight. Eventually moved up and chased O$car. He said he was having trouble making weight and moving up just 5 pounds was not enough...so 147 it was. Shane fought Oscar. Shane went on to fight Forrest....Tszyu stayed put at 140.

End of Story.

Tszyu was the one who didn't take the chance and move up to 147.

I'm a Tszyu fan, but that's the way it was. He lost to Phillips and that was that.

[Dirk Diggler UK]

Let's ask Phillips how fast Kostya was. He hit Judah when Judah got ****y and it him while his hands were down. BIG WOW.

Oh Judah wasnt ready so the knockout doesnt count

[Benny Leonard]

Let's ask Phillips how fast Kostya was. He hit Judah when Judah got ****y and it him while his hands were down. BIG WOW.

Kostya was tagging Phillips but Phillips held his ground and smacked Kostya around who thought it was brave to use his face as a defense. Seriously, his defense and tactics ****** that fight. A disgrace to the Master Boxer he was at amatuer and early pro career.

[Benny Leonard]

Tito was faster than Kostya easily

Depends what part of his career. Early on his was incredibly fast, but as he aged and inactivity happened...he relied on timing.

I really don't know what was going on with him during his career. Was it training...was it the lifestyle...inactivity...all of them...I don't know. Maybe he needed a different trainer and new environment to stay hungry and prove himself.

[Silencers]

Tszyu had really quick hands, they were deceptively fast, timing and accuracy were his main weapons though, especially as his career went on.

[Dirk Diggler UK]

Kostya was tagging Phillips but Phillips held his ground and smacked Kostya around who thought it was brave to use his face as a defense. Seriously, his defense and tactics ****** that fight. A disgrace to the Master Boxer he was at amatuer and early pro career.

Tszyu didnt like pressue. Thats why Ricky fought so aggressively and mauled him. He needed room to get leverage on his punches. Thats why I would like Kostya's chances against the Mosley's and Mayweathers. Speed didnt seem to trouble him and a standoff boxing match against him was never the way to get it done.

[Benny Leonard]

Tszyu didnt like pressue. Thats why Ricky fought so aggressively and mauled him. He needed room to get leverage on his punches. Thats why I would like Kostya's chances against the Mosley's and Mayweathers. Speed didnt seem to trouble him and a standoff boxing match against him was never the way to get it done.

It also helped where Kostya was at in his career when Ricky fought him and the circumstances. It's like what Frank Warren said: We got Kostya at the right time and in Ricky's back-yard.


Tszyu not moving up to 147 to challenge Oscar and Shane, to me, shows he knew he couldn't beat them.

Both Shane and Oscar are above Hatton as well.

They were all the glorified amateur Champions and they knew each other. At pro, it's a different story and Shane and Oscar became the better fighters while Tszyu seemingly didn't meet his potential. I often blame the Australians to mess around…but in the end, it was Tszyu’s choice where to move and train. Or maybe he did reach his potential and I'm overrating what should have been.