Kostya Tszyu

Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu (Константин Борисович «Костя» Цзю; born 19 September 1969) is a Russian-Australian former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2005.

Schwerin Junior Open (57 kg), Schwerin, East Germany, April 1986:

European Junior Championships (57 kg), Copenhagen, Denmark, September 1986:

Soviet International Junior Tournament (60 kg), Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, December 1986:

At the Cuban world championship tournament in 1987, he came in second place, and at the 1988 Summer Olympics, he lost in the third round.

Tszyu was a member of the Soviet Army, but since he was selected as an elite athlete, he was not required to serve the ordinary duty.

World Junior Championships (60 kg), Havana, Cuba, July 1987:

Soviet International Tournament (60 kg), Leningrad, Soviet Union, December 1987:

Soviet National Championships (60 kg), Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, January 1988:

USA–USSR Duals (60 kg), Moscow, Soviet Union, March 1988:

Pre-Olympic Tournament (60 kg), Seoul, South Korea, March 1988:

Soviet International Tournament (60 kg), Leningrad, Soviet Union, June 1988:

Summer Olympics (60 kg), Seoul, South Korea, September 1988:

As an amateur, Tszyu represented the Soviet Union, winning a bronze medal in the lightweight division at the 1989 World Championships, and gold in the light-welterweight division at the 1991 World Championships.

He also won consecutive gold medals at the 1989 and 1991 European Championships.

He fought at the world championships once again, in Moscow in 1989, where he came in third place.

Soviet National Championships (60 kg), Frunze, Kyrgyz SSR, January 1989:

Golden Belt Tournament (60 kg), Bucharest, Romania, April 1989:

European Championships (60 kg), Athens, Greece, May–June 1989:

In 1991, he went again to the amateur world championships, this time held in Sydney.

This was a trip that would change his life forever.

Not only was the third time his charm, but he felt enchanted with the sights of Sydney and its people, and decided he wanted to live in Australia.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, early the next year, Tszyu emigrated to Australia with his girlfriend, where they married in 1993 and became Australian citizens, settling in Sans Souci, Sydney.

Before marrying her, though, Tszyu had already turned professional, beating Darrell Hiles by a knockout in one round on 1 March 1992, at Melbourne.

In 1995, Tszyu won his first of many professional world championships at light-welterweight—the IBF title—by defeating Jake Rodríguez.

Five successful defences were made until an upset loss to Vince Phillips in 1997, which was Tszyu's first professional defeat.

He would spend the next eight years undefeated, winning the vacant WBC title in 1999 and the WBA (Super) title in 2001.

Tszyu scored arguably his most famous win that year, when he knocked out Zab Judah to reclaim the IBF title, as well as the vacant Ring magazine and lineal titles, thus becoming the first undisputed light-welterweight champion in over 30 years.

He held multiple light-welterweight world championships, including the undisputed and lineal titles between 2001 and 2005.

Tszyu was an exceptional all-around boxer-puncher who relied heavily on accuracy, timing, and carried formidable punching power; he is often regarded as one of the hardest-punching light-welterweights in the division's history.

In 2005, in what would be his final fight, Tszyu was stopped by Ricky Hatton.

Tszyu is considered by many in Australia to be a national sports hero.

In The Ring's March 2010 issue, Tszyu was ranked as the number one light-welterweight of the 2000s decade.

In December 2010, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for the Class of 2011.

From 2012 to 2013 he coached professional boxers Alexander Povetkin, Denis Lebedev and Khabib Allakhverdiev.

Tszyu was born in Serov, a town near the Ural Mountains, in the former Soviet Union to a Korean (paternal)–Mongol (maternal) father and a Russian mother.

Tszyu's father was a fitter in a metal factory, whereas his mother was a nurse.

As a child, Kostya was hyperactive, so his father decided to take him to a boxing gym, where he would channel that energy by fighting older boys.

He impressed the Soviet amateur team coaches and he was sent to the Soviet Union's amateur boxing travelling training camps, where he visited more than 30 countries while training and fighting in tournaments.

He trained with that group 250 days a year, and won various tournaments, such as amateur boxing's world championships.