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Konstantin "Kostya" Tszyu
(Russian_language|Russian: Константин
(Костя) Цзю) (born September 19, 1969) is
a Russia born boxing|boxer who is an Australian
citizen and two time world junior welterweight
champion.

The son of a fitter in a metal factory and a
nurse, Tszyu was born in a town named Serov, near
the Ural Mountains.

Tszyu and his family, including sister Olga, used
to share an apartment with another family, and
Tszyu used to sleep on the floor. Tszyu was
hyperactive as a child, and his father decided to
take him to a boxing gym, where he would channel
that energy by fighting older boys. Soon, Tszyu
impressed Russia's amateur team coaches and he was
sent to the Soviet Union's amateur boxing
travelling training camps, where he got to visit
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. He also
participated in the Olympic Games. At the Cuban
world championship tournament in 1987, he came in
second place, and at the Seoul Olympic games, he
lost in the third round. 

Kostya was a member of the Soviet military too,
but since he was selected as an elite athlete, he
did not have to participate in any wars. 

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

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. 

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1992,
Tszyu escaped from the Russian army and fled to
Australia with his girlfriend, where they married
in 1993 and became Australian citizens. Before
marrying her, though, Tszyu had already turned
professional, beating Darrell Hiles by a knockout
in one round on March 1, 1992 at Melbourne. 

Tszyu started raising his quality of opposition
almost immediately. In his fourth professional
bout, he met the former World Boxing Council|WBC
Featherweight champion of the world Juan Laporte,
decisioning him over ten rounds. In his sixth
bout, he beat the future WBO junior welterweight
champion of the world Sammy Fuentes by a knockout
in the first. In 1993, Steve Larrimore, Larry La
Crousiere and Robert Rivera, all fringe
contenders, went to Australia to fight Tszyu, and
none lasted more than two rounds. The only man to
last more than two rounds with Tszyu in '93 was
Livingstone Bramble, a former world Lightweght
champion, who lost by decision to Tszyu at
Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle, Australia. 

In 1994, Hector Lopez, who would later challenge
Fuentes for the world title, Angel Hernandez, who
had just come off challenging Julio Cesar Chavez
for the WBC belt and Pedro Chinito Sanchez, a
fringe contender from the Dominican Republic tried
to beat Tszyu, but Tszyu beat Lopez by a decision
in ten, Hernandez by a knockout in seven, and
Sanchez by a knockout in four. After the win
against Sanchez, Tszyu was ranked number one in
the Jr. Welterweights.

And then, in 1995, he received his first world
title shot, when he fought International Boxing
Federation|IBF world junior welterweight champion
Jake Rodriguez at Las Vegas, Nevada. Tszyu became
world champion by knocking Rodriguez out in the
sixth round, and then defended the world title
beating former world junior lightweight and junior
welterweight champion Roger Mayweather by a
decision in 12, Hugo Pineda by a knockout in 11,
Cory Johnson by a knockout in four, and Jan
Bergman by a knockout in six. After that string of
defenses, Tszyu became a highly touted world
champion by many boxing magazines, and many
articles about him appeared on Ring Magazine, KO
Magazine, and other American boxing publications. 

1997 began for Tszyu when his defense against
Leonardo Moro Mas was declared a no contest
because Mas' camp protested that the blow that
finished their fight in the first round was
actually a low blow. Undecided whether it was a
low blow or a legal blow, the IBF and the Nevada
State Athletic commission decided to declare it a
no contest instead. For his next bout, however,
Tszyu wasn't as lucky, and he lost for the first
time, losing by a knockout in ten rounds to Vince
Phillips, who also took with that, Tzsyu's world
championship. He regrouped after that defeat, and
came back to beat Ismael Chaves just before year's
end.

After beating former world champions Calvin Grove
(KO2) and Rafael Ruelas (KO9), Tszyu was given
another world title try, when the WBC's belt
became vacant in 1998 following Oscar De La Hoya's
move to the Welterweight division, and Tszyu found
himself twice on the canvas in round one of his
fight for the vacant belt against Diobelis
Hurtado, but recuperated to beat Hurtado by a
knockout in five and become world champion once
again.  He retained the title once in 1999,
knocking out former world champion Miguel Angel
Gonzalez in ten, and twice in 2000, beating
Arizona's fringe contender Ahmed Santos in eight,
and Mexico|Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez, the
former world champion, in six at Phoenix, Arizona.


Then, he started talking about his wish to unify
all the belts. In 2001, he began that quest by
facing the World Boxing Association|WBA's world
champion Sharmba Mitchell and taking the WBA belt
from Mitchell by a knockout in seven. After that,
he met the German Turk, Oktay Urkal, whom he beat
by a heavily disputed 12 round decision after 12
rounds. Finally, he finished 2001 by recovering
his IBF belt in an unification bout with the until
then IBF world champion Zab Judah, who was knocked
out in two. A small melee inside the ring followed
that fight, because Judah thought that the fight
had been stopped early and he got mad at the
referee, throwing his corner's seat at him. By
then, however, Tszyu was long gone and in his
dressing room. That win was chosen by Ring
Magazine as their "Knockout of the Year". 

Tszyu in 2002 had only one bout, beating fringe
contender Ben Tackie of Ghana by a decision in 12.


On January 19 of 2003, Tszyu began the year by
retaining his title against former world champion
Jesse James Leija by a knockout in six. After the
fight, held in Melbourne, Australia|Melbourne,
Tszyu announced that fight could be his last in
Australia because promoters want him to fight more
in the United States. The win against Leija came
on the birthday of Tszyu's son.

His plans for 2003 included defending his title
various times. He has been trying to get in the
ring again with Phillips, and he also tried to
fight with WBO world champion Demarcus Corley, but
negotiations towards those two fights to take
place in 2003 were not successful. Furthermore,
they became more complicated when Phillips lost to
Ricky Hatton and Corley lost his title to Judah,
and Tszyu ended up being inactive the rest of the
year.

His first fight in 2004 was supposed to be held on
February 7 in a rematch against former world
champion Mitchell. It would have been Tszyu's
first fight as a professional in Moscow, but Tszyu
got his shoulder injured during training. He had
successful surgery to correct the problem, but the
injure further accentuated his long lay off from
boxing.

On November 6, he and Mitchell finally had their
Tszyu vs. Mitchell II|rematch, and Tszyu knocked
Mitchell out in three rounds, once again, at
Phoenix, Arizona. He next fought on June 5 2005
against British boxer Ricky Hatton, Tszyu lost
this fight, and his world title, after retiring on
his stool at the end of the 11th round (at this
point he was behind on the cards of all three
judges). After that defeat, Tszyu
http://www.secondsout.com/USA/leadingusa.cfm?ccs=3
68&cs=16516 offered Hatton his telephone number
for friendship and advice.

His record currently is of 32 professional wins
(of which 25 are by knockout), two losses and one
no contest.

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