Does Kosta Tszyu's record stand up against the greats?

[dayo]

What were the best fights Kostya Tszyu was involved in?

[Hacienda]

Well Kostya was just a young lad when he fought for the IBF light Welterweight belt.

(the same as Hatton & urango are fighting for tonight)

..In only his 11th pro fight!

Add to that he was fighting a slippery champion in Jake 'The Snake' Rodriguez.

Kostya came out and in about 30 seconds splattered him round the ring, putting him down twice (i recall?) - now how often do we see a kid in his 11th fight, spanking the seasoned champ? LOL

Thats Kostya - a true gentleman of the sport....with natural-disaster sized punching power for a little fella!!

[Lords Gym]

Well Kostya was just a young lad when he fought for the IBF light Welterweight belt.

(the same as Hatton & urango are fighting for tonight)

..In only his 11th pro fight!

Add to that he was fighting a slippery champion in Jake 'The Snake' Rodriguez.

Kostya came out and in about 30 seconds splattered him round the ring, putting him down twice (i recall?) - now how often do we see a kid in his 11th fight, spanking the seasoned champ? LOL

Thats Kostya - a true gentleman of the sport....with natural-disaster sized punching power for a little fella!!

excellent analysis ! Kostya was tremendous, exciting fighter. #72

[THE THIRD MAN]

A good question that can easily be answered, Tsyzu fought and beat a former world champion in only his 4th fight! Nearly 50% of all the fights he has had as a professional have been against World Champions.
He was the undisputed 140lb champion and universally recognized as the best 140lb fighter in the world for 10 years. Interseting that both former lightwieght Champions Mosely and Mayweather chose to avoid Tszyu like the plague when they both had a chance to move up and fight him.
De la Hoya didn't stick around to long in the 140lb division either for that matter.
His loss to Hatton is no black mark, age catches up with all fighters, do we question Duran, Leonard, Chavez or Hearns who all lost to fighters who wouldn't have lasted 5 rounds in their prime.
Tszyu's record stands up allright, have another look at how he demolished Gonzalez, Judah and Mitchell.

[Kel]

A good question that can easily be answered, Tsyzu fought and beat a former world champion in only his 4th fight! Nearly 50% of all the fights he has had as a professional have been against World Champions.
He was the undisputed 140lb champion and universally recognized as the best 140lb fighter in the world for 10 years. Interseting that both former lightwieght Champions Mosely and Mayweather chose to avoid Tszyu like the plague when they both had a chance to move up and fight him.
De la Hoya didn't stick around to long in the 140lb division either for that matter.
His loss to Hatton is no black mark, age catches up with all fighters, do we question Duran, Leonard, Chavez or Hearns who all lost to fighters who wouldn't have lasted 5 rounds in their prime.
Tszyu's record stands up allright, have another look at how he demolished Gonzalez, Judah and Mitchell.

Good post......Kostya is one of the best 140lb fighters ever to grace the sport. His career set is fantastic and he was an amazing figure for the sport.

[oakleyno1]

cottos chin im sorry but it is SHIT... torress couldnt get near mike arnoutis, yet he managed to hit cotto many times!... for de marcus corley to wobble him is very worrying, no way could he get hir by hatton, tyszu or even mayweather if he cant take a flush shot by corley. i like cotto alot but he aint a champion imo, just imagine him getting wacked by paul williams or something

[TitoFan]

Oakley, you put too much stock (misguided, I might add) on Cotto's "supposed" lack of chin. Any fighter will tell you that, you fight long enough, you're bound to get tagged by a flush shot sooner or later. It's how you react to getting tagged that separates the men from the boys. Yes, for the 1,000,000th time, Cotto did get wobbled by a flush shot by Corley. Corley's a professional fighter. Give him some credit. It's how Cotto weathered that and came back with his own KO that speaks volumes about the man's heart, skill, and championship stature.

Snakey, I like you, but some constructive criticism: It's possible to stick by your fighter without demeaning the other. Example: I'm a Cotto fan. But I don't diss on Kostya Tszyu to build up Cotto. Matter of fact, I'm a HUGE Kostya fan. His humiliation of Zab Judah, and his putdown of JCC were two of my favorite fights. Not to mention his impressive victories over Shramba Mitchell. So no... Cotto's opponents have definitely NOT been a bunch of "cab drivers." Do some research before you post stuff like that. Cotto has had some VERY credible and good opposition, if you bother to watch his fights and research his opponents credentials.

Finally, as to how Kostya's record stand up against the greats.... I think it stands up just fine. I think that previous post about how you can't dismiss a great fighter because of one devastating loss toward the end of his career hit the nail right on the head. So he lost to Hatton, so what? He went all the way to the U.K., into Hatton's backyard, obviously wasn't prepared for Hatton's mauling, relentless style and the ref's obliviousness to all of it, and finally just gave out. Not a black mark at all, IMO.

[bigragu]

Honestly...I aint that big on Kostya.

He's a good fighter...but in the grand scheme of things...he's just a minnow that barely makes a splash in a much bigger pond.

Cotto, IWO, is a much superior fighter with a hell of a lot better record.

always kinda felt like cotto could beat kostya

A good question that can easily be answered, Tsyzu fought and beat a former world champion in only his 4th fight! Nearly 50% of all the fights he has had as a professional have been against World Champions.
He was the undisputed 140lb champion and universally recognized as the best 140lb fighter in the world for 10 years. Interseting that both former lightwieght Champions Mosely and Mayweather chose to avoid Tszyu like the plague when they both had a chance to move up and fight him.
De la Hoya didn't stick around to long in the 140lb division either for that matter.
His loss to Hatton is no black mark, age catches up with all fighters, do we question Duran, Leonard, Chavez or Hearns who all lost to fighters who wouldn't have lasted 5 rounds in their prime.
Tszyu's record stands up allright, have another look at how he demolished Gonzalez, Judah and Mitchell.

well that's enough for me....KT is a legit great.....50% that qualifies IMO...