Is Kostya Tszyu really the greatest 140 pounder ever?

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I'm really surprised,I did this thread about a year and a half ago, and I'm sure the consensus was that he was the best 140 pounder! Wow!You guys all make valid points.

You can make a case for JCC, Pryor, or Chavez being the best at that weight. All great fighters. But in his prime...i wouldn't bet against Tszyu against anybody at 140. Tremendous power, skill, and intelligence. As The Third Man already mentioned...he wasn't physically right in the Phillips fight. The Hatton fight was a combination of age and horrible refereeing. Not trying to make excuses for Kostya...just don't think he was at his best for those two fights. My dream fight has always been Tszyu vs. Mayweather in their primes. That would have been a tremendous fight!

I used to think Tszyu would beat Mayweather but I'm not so sure anymore.Not at all. To beat Floyd,you need alot more things than just 1 huge punch. Mayweather has shown,even in the Oscar fight,if your arsenal is primarily based around 1 punch,you're not going to beat him,no matter how good it is(and Oscar's left hook is a thing of beauty).

I do think Tszyu had a way of solving boxers,and he had an awesome sense of timing,but Mayweather is in a different league to Mitchell and Zab. And as for Kostya lasting with Aaaron Pryor,forget about it. Every fighter has a style that they cannot handle,for KT,I think that is in your face pressure fighters,like Hatton and Phillips. They never gave him a chance to get his bombs off,they never gave him time to think. Pryor was more monstrous than those 2 combined,Pryor stops Tszyu every time for me.The Hawk may get dropped but he'll get back up and win for sure imo.

I don't think Tszyu could have beaten Hatton even in his prime.Hatton had too much pressure and walked through his best shots. I'd give Tszyu more of a chance if the fight was not in England for sure,and if he was younger,but I'd still choose Hatton to win. I didn't see a single sign in the first match for me to say Tszyu would beat Hatton.

Tszyu possessed much more than just a powerful single punch. He is a better fighter and better conditioned athlete than Oscar as well. To beat Floyd you need good speed, timing, accuracy, stamina, and intelligence. All of which KT had in abundance to go along with his great power. Not saying KT would definitely win...but it would have been a great fight and BY FAR Floyd's biggest challenge. I guess one can argue that Hatton's pressure style could have always posed problems for Tszyu. But the fight took place way to late in his career and under far from ideal circumstances for me to simply think Hatton could have beaten Tszyu in his prime. And again...i just feel he wasn't physically right against Phillips. As for Pryor...he was a beast. No question he would be a great challenge for anyone at that weight.

Tszyu is a better technical fighter than Oscar, but Oscar's left hook lands as hard as Tszyu's right hand, he is alot faster than Tszyum, and Oscar has always had good timing, and Floyd Snr has improved his defensive to go along with that height made it hard for Mayweather to land a lot of his shots the way he likes to. Tszyu is definitely a good fighter, but this fight is more like JCC-Whitaker than anything... Mayweather is too slick, too durable, and too hard to hit for Tszyu to stand a real chance against. Mayweather was way faster at 140 than he is now, what him against Gatti, Corley, etc., and you will see a guy too quick, and too smart for Tszyu as great as he was. Because he, Floyd, didn't stay at the weight he would be considered ATG better at the weight, but he would beat Tszyu decidedly, However I still believe JCC was better than Tszyu in many aspects and its a toss up between them for who's the "greatest" 140 pounder.

Oscar is a lot faster than KT?! That's news to me. Oscar is not as skilled, smart, and well conditioned as Tszyu was. I also find it ridiculous that you would think a Mayweather vs. Tszyu fight would be like JCC-Whitaker. KT fought nothing like Chavez and he thrived against fast/technical fighters. If anything...it would be a fighter with a pressure style that would give KT more trouble...and Floyd certainly is not a pressure fighter. Tszyu great power makes some people sometimes forget what a great technical and cerebral fighter he was. AGAIN...i am not saying KT would definitely win against Floyd...but you are dreaming if you think it would have been a one sided fight in Floyd's favor. And please don't use Gatti and Corley as an example of how Floyd would fare against Tszyu...those fighter are no where near the same caliber.