If Tszyu makes his comeback at 147, who would you like him to face?

[deliveryman]

A step backwards from average journeyman Carlos Baldomir to fight the best 140lber ever, infact the best ever amateur or pro.. ofcourse.

And Tszyu would have nothing to lose, fighting the best in the sport having been inactive for five years.

Oh **** off. He just beat the lineal welterweight champion of the world and is looking forward to Mosely and Oscar. If he didn't beat Baldomir, you would just be calling him a paper champ. It's a no win situation with you, isn't it?

Anyway,

How is beating Kostya who has disappeared off the face of the planet, who would be almost 37 years old, and in a division that he is foreign to.

Right that's a much bigger fight than Mayweather-Mosely or Mayweather-De La Hoya or Mayweather-Margarito, Mayweather-Hatton or even Mayweather-Cotto

Please, explain that to me.



Like I said: it would be taking a step backwards.

[DiegoFuego]

All I know is I'd give him no shot whatsoever against this Floyd Mayweather

[FeelTheA-Force]

Tszyu, it's difficult to see the guy beaten if you try to box him. He gets 9 out of 10 in timing, 9 out of 10 in counter-punching, 9 out of 10 in ring generalship, 9 out of 10 in accuracy, sure he's abit flat-footed and uses a wide stance, and sure he doesn't use as much great left hand work as he used to due to injuries, but Mayweather is not a pouncing fighter.. and ofcourse, Kostya has that laser right hand that strikes as hard as a middleweight's punch, if you give him time and allow him to extend his elbow (which Hatton didn't), you cannot overlook Kostya's punching power.

thats true. surely mayweather will take tips from the hatton fight. and fight on the inside.

[GEOFFHAYES]

I think Floyd would consider it too if he can't get a fight with Oscar.

Floyd has always respected Tszyu so it would be an interesting fight, agree...especially since I think that Tszyu should of moved up to 147 long ago...the problem is Tszyu's age and the fact that he has been injured so many times that it seems his body is rejecting the grueling workouts/fights.

Tszyu was on the decline well before the Hatton fight, but he has always been good enough to figure out a way to win, at least most of the time.

The thing with Tszyu, he had like 200-300 amateur fights and entered the pro's as the one of the best lb4lb amateurs but with a pro style! So he always focussed on conditioning before technique, especially later in his career, and he says he wouldn't need a warm-up fight for Mayweather because "I've been doing it so long I can switch it on like a light switch".

[Abe Attell]

Tszyu, it's difficult to see the guy beaten if you try to box him. He gets 9 out of 10 in timing, 9 out of 10 in counter-punching, 9 out of 10 in ring generalship, 9 out of 10 in accuracy, sure he's abit flat-footed and uses a wide stance, and sure he doesn't use as much great left hand work as he used to due to injuries, but Mayweather is not a pouncing fighter.. and ofcourse, Kostya has that laser right hand that strikes as hard as a middleweight's punch, if you give him time and allow him to extend his elbow (which Hatton didn't), you cannot overlook Kostya's punching power.

But still, the fact that he seems to lose the first couple of rounds in the past few or more years, shows his decline...his speed and elusiveness hasn't been the same for a while.

I stated this before, leading up to the Judah vs Tszyu fight, Judah was interviewed about the fight and how he thought it was going to be...one question was brought up about Tszyu saying he was looking at his old fights to recapture some of the technique he did in the past, but Zab responded "He doesn't fight like that anymore, he can't, he is to old"...although Tszyu didn't need to fight like he did when he was younger against Zab, Zab made a good point.

[Abe Attell]

The thing with Tszyu, he had like 200-300 amateur fights and entered the pro's as the one of the best lb4lb amateurs but with a pro style! So he always focussed on conditioning before technique, especially later in his career, and he says he wouldn't need a warm-up fight for Mayweather because "I've been doing it so long I can switch it on like a light switch".

I am not sure if it was Jake Lamotta, Carmen Basilio or one of the other famous middleweights from that time period, but he said, "A fighter must fight at least every 3 months to stay at the top of his game; inactivity, no matter who the fighter is, is the worst enemy to a fighter"

[GEOFFHAYES]

I agree, Kostya was at his best in the mid-90's, he was evading punches by minute margins and showing a lot of great left hand work, hooking off the jab and all that. But he'll still be good! I like the device he came up with towards the end of his career, for training, the tennis ball attached to string and the band on his head, and him hitting it over and over, he mastered it, it blows you away watching that kind of skill. He'll always have that razor timing and ring smarts, and will force Floyd to think more than he ever has before.

[Azteca]

I agree, Kostya was at his best in the mid-90's, he was evading punches by minute margins and showing a lot of great left hand work, hooking off the jab and all that. But he'll still be good! I like the device he came up with towards the end of his career, for training, the tennis ball attached to string and the band on his head, and him hitting it over and over, he mastered it, it blows you away watching that kind of skill. He'll always have that razor timing and ring smarts, and will force Floyd to think more than he ever has before.

tszyu still used his left late in his career. he changed the way he through it though, because of injuries. he was actually able to turn the direction of his fist when he would throw the left hook and he would turn it over into an uppercut. it was a weird move.

[Abe Attell]

thats true. surely mayweather will take tips from the hatton fight. and fight on the inside.

I don't think Mayweather can do what Hatton was able to do...What Hatton did, even though I don't approve of it since this is "Boxing", was the best scheme to win the fight against him, more so at this particular time (since timing is everything) in Tszyu's career...if this was a younger Tszyu against Hatton, I don't think Hatton's plan would of worked.

Phillips won against Tszyu by pressuring him also, of course it helps to have power and a good chin when you do it...though there was questions going into the fight about Tszyu not being 100% dedicated to the fight because of outside distractions...I would of like to have seen the rematch to clear things up.

This is why I also say if Tszyu does come back, he MUST face Hatton or don't bother because he would lose some legacy points by coming back again and not getting a rematch with the fighter he lost to.


At this point in Tszyu's career he is more likely to lose to a fast fighter that can hit and get out than any point in his career...if a fighter was fast, Tszyu back in the day would attack, which was a lot easier then because he was fast himself...the one thing Mayweather can't allow himself to do, is to get into a timed pattern of doing the same thing over and over.

[Abe Attell]

tszyu still used his left late in his career. he changed the way he through it though, because of injuries. he was actually able to turn the direction of his fist when he would throw the left hook and he would turn it over into an uppercut. it was a weird move.

It was reported that when Tszyu got surgery the first time on his shoulder, the Doctor saw lots of scar tissue build up that was built up for more than a couple of years...the final rip is what caused Tszyu to get the surgery, but his shoulder was injured well before the surgery.

His left hook looked strong when he fought Mitchell, but once you have an injury like that, it tends to get re-injured over and over again.