Tszyu – Judah; Can Kostya Still Beat One of Boxing\’s Best?

Kostya Tszyu separated Zab Judah from motor skills four years ago with a single cannon-like right hand and the two had gone their separate ways after the Brooklyn man’s out of control post fight performance. Tszyu walked away wearing three major title belts at light welter while Judah picked

up the only other crown, the WBO, available at the weight before moving up to welter and taking the unified champion distinction at 147 from Cory Spinks. Tszyu went on to see all but one of his titles, the IBF, stripped away due to injury related inactivity and even that was removed when the former Russian amateur superstar tangled with England’s brutal whirlwind of bad intent, Ricky Hatton, four months ago.

Now, there is speculation that Tszyu and Judah may once again face each other in the ring. The source of this new development came from comments issued by Tszyu during a press conference in his adopted homeland of Australia heralding the launch of his new book and DVD. Tszyu let on that he was considering his next move and if he did return to the ring that it would be at welterweight with the goal of tackling the triple titled Judah.

A lot has changed since 2001, when Tszyu caught Judah with his chin up and hands down in Las Vegas. The once invincible Siberian terror turned thirty six years of age last month and is coming off a tremendous war with Hatton, one which left Tszyu badly battered and bruised as never before in his thirteen year, thirty four fight career.

But should Judah face Tszyu in the ring once again, the lightning reflexed southpaw may also bear psychological scars, given the results of his previous encounter with the “Thunder From Down Under”. Tszyu’s rematch with Sharmba Mitchell late last year was a classic example of a rematch in which a fighter was beaten as much mentally from the fallout of the first fight as he was from the efforts of his opponent in the ring.

Another factor that could play into Tszyu’s favor would be that of weight. The Sydney man had been for the past several years floating the possibility of jumping up a division and many had speculated that Tszyu was no longer able to make 140 pounds without sacrificing a good deal of what made him special in the process.

That having been said, it must be noted that Judah is obviously not the same fighter he was four years ago. The Tszyu result and particularly his disappointing performance in a failed title bid at welter against Cory Spinks in their first bout produced a maturer “Super” Judah.

The twenty seven year old New Yorker displayed remarkable patience and poise while breaking down a very difficult to fight fellow lefty, Cory Spinks, in the champion’s hometown of St. Louis in front of over 22,000 fans. Judah has also voiced his desire to one day gain revenge over Tszyu, especially as he feels he was never given a chance to recover from the knockdown he suffered at the hands of the transplanted Australian.

Throw in Tszyu’s uncanny ability to take apart southpaws along with Judah’s eight year edge in youth and you have a tremendous possible rematch in the making. With the history of these two exceptionally talented fighters and three major welterweight titles at stake, look for this pairing to be the most anticipated contest of 2006.