First let me start off by saying Kostya Tszyu was a bad man in his prime. He had an awesome right hand. He had a good jab. He was a good counter-punching. He was a boxer with power. I don't think I ever saw him in much slugfests. When he won, he usually dominated fights. He was a DOMINANT champion who beat anyone they put in front of him. He beat Zab Judah, Sharmba Mitchell, Ben Tackie, Jesse James Leija, Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Jake Rodriguez, Julio Cesar Chavez (old), Roger Mayweather (old), Otkay Urkal, Disobleys Hurtado, Rafael Ruelas, Calvin Grove, Livingstone Bramble, Juan LaPorte (old), Jan Piet Bergman.

Hell of a resume and great fighter. Maybe the greatest Australian fighter? Not to mention, a very classy individual, who never talked much trash at all.

Kostya Tszyu was once in the top 5 (or top 3) P4P after his sensational performance against Sharmba Mitchell.

But Kostya never got a fight with the other stars around his weight..like..

-Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Tszyu lost to Hatton and retired before he could fight Floyd)
-Shane Mosley (I don't think this was ever discussed? Would have been an awesome fight)
-Oscar De La Hoya (I think this was discussed in the past but fell apart when Tszyu got upset by Phillips?)
-Miguel Cotto (Was only a prospect in Tszyu's time on top)
-Vernon Forrest (Tszyu has a win over Forrest in the amateurs. I don't think this was ever discussed...but would've been a hell of a fight like...6-8 years ago)

What do you think?

Tszyu is my favorite out of all those names you listed....

He was a fighter's fighter.

What Hatton and Parris did in Manchester was a travesty of Justice...he didn't deserve to get fucked like that....

you know that Mosley jumped 2 weight classes and skipped 140.

a more interesting question would be why little Floyd never fought Joel Casamayor......;

I would have liked to have seen him fight some of the stars you mentioned, but when Mayweather moved to 140 and just beat Gatti, Tszyu lost to Hatton soon after. Mosley skipped 140, DLH was fighting above 140 later on, and Cotto was green and wasn't getting in the ring with Tszyu any time soon.
One of the few cases where you can say the top guys around the weight were "avoided".

And when that prick Jim Gray was being classless while interviewing him(i think that was after the Hatton fight). Kostya should have pulled a James Toney and knocked the mike out of that Gray's hand.

I loved Tszyu, he was exciting to watch and he was humble outside the ring. That fight with Hatton had me steaming. I thought for sure Hatton was going to lose. Of all the fighters you mentioned, Kostya at his best could have beating any of them. We will never know though.

Kostya Tszyu was a bitch, Zab would have fucked him up if that jerk-off ref didn't screw him. Fuck Jay Nady

Must be sarcasm? Yeah?

BK all day son

Doesn't matter AT ALL..Tszyu's greatness is not even questionable..Floyd had more respect for Tszyu than anyone around his weight I remember hearing..Cotto wasn't really around long enough when Tszyu was around to get a title shot..Tszyu got out of boxing at the right time..The guys you named would of been good fights though..Mayweather,DLH,and Mosley would of been the best guys of the ones you named though during Tsyzu's reign..I wouldn't give any of those 3 any strong advantage over Tszyu..He was so versatile which is why ya can't give anyone a real advantage over post-Phillips Tszyu..

I agree. The most disturbing connivance of bullshit I have ever see in a ring.

Mosley skipped 140 to get a big payday against DLH
Tszyu just lost to Phillips when DLH was around 140 & DLh was never going to get below 147 after he went up there.
Cotto was a prospect when Tszyu was champ
Forrest would have been a good fight but one Tszyu would have won easily IMO.
PBF well what can be said about him he always went down the path of least resistance & never would have fought a cagey fox like KT.

Can someone answer my question: Why didn't Floyd fight Joel Cassamayor?

This is a Tszyu Thread, please don't bring up the"great" Mayweather

Sheer cowardice. Next.

This is offtopic I know but I wish Casamayor and Mayweather would have fought too..I really liked Casamayor a lot back then..He isn't the same these days but he still is competitive..

Cause Floyd didn't want to fight some Cuban refugee for peanuts, thus risking angering the most volatile and greatest menace to the world, a 8923 year old Fidel Castro,

Floyd was chasing Gatti (and eventually Kostya)at the time. This was after he fought JLC. NO diss to Casamayor but Floyd was chasing big fish at the time and fighting Gatti meant getting on PPV. I guarantee had Kostya not been out "wrassled" by Ricky that a fight with those two would have been made.

I like Kostya a lot but I think he would have lost to Vernon had they fought in the pro's while Vernon was a welterweight. While I still see Vernon as a formidable challenge now, prior to his shoulder injury, he was incredible. Nice array of skills and power. I've seen their amateur matchup but I also saw alot of things improve within Vernon.

He and Mosley in their primes would have definitely been an incredible fight but as mentioned, Mosley skipped over 140.

Actually I think had Floyd fought Casa the best time to do it would have been 2001-2002 when they were both at 130. The way I remember it both Freitas and Casamayor were angling for a bout with Floyd. Once he moved up to 135, they signed to fight each other.

I recall on an old Maxboxing interview him saying he'd LOVE to fight Kostya. This was on the heels of Kostya fighting Sharmba II the 2nd time while he was going into Brusseles.

PBF never would have fought KT. He knew he would get a Rodney King style beating.