Do you think Kostya Tszyu would have...

[WhoreUs]

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.

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.

[Silencers]

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.

[WhoreUs]

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.

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.

[Silencers]

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.

[Bonafide]

mosley ducked him apparently

Yup. Went from 135 right to 147 skipping Junior Welter all together.

[Benny Leonard]

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.