Kostya Tszyu in his prime: How good was he?

[Grez2188]

New to the forums and have a question for everyone. I have been into boxing heavily for the past 10 years or so (24 years old now) and was wondering how good Kostya Tszyu was in his prime?

I only ask because I was bored (under the influence) looking over boxers' records/fights and came across his name and it struck a memory. I don't recall seeing him fight but remember his name being mentioned as I first got into watching and really paying attention to boxing. Then he lost to Hatton and retired and that was it.

So for those that saw him in his prime how good was he and how would he fare against today's Light Welterweights? How would he have fared against Mayweather at that weight? Thanks.

[LoadedWraps]

He was a monster, everyone in the division feared him, except for Roger Mayweather. Roger got robbed blind, but Tszyu took the souls of greats like JCC and Zab Judah.

[boliodogs]

I thought he was damn good. He was past prime when he lost to Hatton and he fought Hatton in England where Hatton was a god with his own personal referee. Hatton got away with anything in that fight including deliberately hitting Tszyu in the balls with his hardest punch and not even getting a warning. Prime against prime in neutral territory and he would KO Hatton and most other 140 pounders in my opinion.

[IronDanHamza]

He was a monster, everyone in the division feared him, except for Roger Mayweather. Roger got robbed blind, but Tszyu took the souls of greats like JCC and Zab Judah.

Tszyu took Chavez soul?

A shot to pieces version.

[IronDanHamza]

Tszyu was a good solid fighter.

Still baffled that he's in the HOF but the standards are pretty low.

[Ray*]

He was a good fighter in his prime but he also lost to Kevin Philips in that prime.

[Ray*]

Tszyu was a good solid fighter.

Still baffled that he's in the HOF but the standards are pretty low.

He definitely gets over rated sometimes.

[wladavit]

Good boxer with great power. How can he be overrated when he unified all the titles. How many champions do that?

[Spray_resistant]

If you look at most notable fighters records they have a long string of cans on there before they stepped up. I think KT only has about 2 "Wilder type" opponent with a losing record on his resume. Most of his early fights are against unbeaten or other prospects and experienced vets.

[Mikhnienko]

Good boxer with great power. How can he be overrated when he unified all the titles. How many champions do that?

He was the first guy at 140lbs to do it in over 40 years. I would favor Tszyu over every current 140lber without even having to think about it. Garcia and Matthysse would be reasonably live underdogs but can't see either beating him.

Do yourself a favor and check out this FOTY quality fight. One of his most exciting fights although not the best display of his skills. If you want to have a reason to get into him this is a very good introduction to why some people are such big fans. Golovkin 1.0 in some regards.

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