Saturday night at the Glendale Arena in Arizona, 140-pound Champion Kostya
Tszyu (31-1-1-24 KO’s) returned to the ring after 22-months away. There
would be no tune up fights and no more wasted time. Tszyu was not back to
play games—but to fight top fighters.

On the menu was Sharmba Mitchell, the IBF Interim Champion, who had earned
his way there. A knee injury ended his chances in their first fight back in
2001. The chance for redemption finally arrived for Sharmba, who after so
much talk and obsession was finally getting his much-wanted rematch with
Tszyu after a three-year wait.

After a pretty intense stare down as the ref gave instructions, they touched
gloves in the large 22 x 22 foot ring and it began. It’s interesting that
two highly skilled technical fighters fought such a sloppy, ugly first
fight. History was about to repeat itself with a few minor adjustments.

THE FIGHT

Round 1
Mitchell started fast, jabbing and moving around Tszyu, aggressively setting
the tempo in his favor. Mitchell landed the first meaningful shot, a straight left into Tszyu’s chest.  Tszyu came forward, patiently. Mitchell threw some punches then immediately clinched, trying to avoid Tszyu’s returns. Instead he was hit with a few clean, short hooks from Tszyu. Whenever Tszyu started his offense, Mitchell clinched. They banged heads during one clinch and the referee, Raul Caiz Sr., noted to the Judges that an accidental head butt had occurred. Blood ran down Tszyu’s nose from a slice over his left eyebrow.
Mitchell jabbed, scored and then clinched again, and again Tszyu landed sharp, short hook shots to the body and head. Near the end of the round, Tszyu held his arms up to show that Mitchell was the one clinching. With his free arm, Mitchell worked the body just before the bell.  It was a close round, both scored well. I gave it to Mitchell for his effective jabbing and higher work rate.
10-9 Mitchell.

Round 2
Mitchell lunged forward with a left, then held onto Tszyu. His strategy reminded me of John Ruiz, who famously hits and holds as standard procedure. Holding with his right hand, Mitchell threw short lefts inside. They scuffled around, clinching, pulling and making the referee earn his pay. Whenever Mitchell held, Tszyu always landed something short inside, often to the face. Mitchell’s strategy was backfiring. After being separated from another clinch, Tszyu landed a clean straight right to Mitchell’s face, then pressed him with the old one, two, sending him into the ropes. Tszyu released a barrage of shots that stung Mitchell, who tried to block but a solid right upper cut sent him to the canvas. The crowd went wild. The ref counted and action resumed.
Mitchell went back to holding again, trying in vain to avoid Tszyu, who pressed him into the corner, looking to finish. Mitchell smartly used his jab and follow up punches to ward Tszyu off, even scoring a nice shot to the face in the process, then he used his legs to get out of the corner. He survived the round.
10-8 Tszyu.

Round 3
As the round began, Tszyu landed a well-timed, straight right into Mitchell’s chin, sending him down backwards. The crowd roared as the ref counted. Mitchell went into a defensive shell and moved into the corner, looking to counter his way out of trouble. Tszyu came in for the kill, measuring with his left jab to land his right hand. Mitchell countered with a flurry that sent Tszyu back a step. Unimpeded by Mitchell’s power, Kostya went right back after the target. Mitchell got off the ropes and held onto Tszyu, who landed some short stinging crosses to Mitchell’s face and body. Mitchell was in trouble but tried not to show it as he bounced on his feet and circled around the ring.
Again, Kostya cut the ring off and used left, right combos to press Mitchell back into the ropes—where he landed six unanswered punches that put Mitchell down on his knees. The ref counted. A pork chop swelling was developing over the right side of Mitchell’s forehead as he rose to beat the count. With about 16 seconds to the bell, Tszyu moved in with the same strategy as before and popped Mitchell with a straight right followed by combinations that put Mitchell down again. The ref huddled over Mitchell and waved it off. Kostya raised his arms in victory.

Kostya Tszyu by TKO 3.

* * *

The ring filled with both camps. Mitchell whispered something to Tszyu and whatever animosity there was before the fight was not visible afterwards.

Tszyu is one of my favorite fighters, not only because of his successes in the ring but because of his respect for himself and the sport. As the press took pictures, Tszyu put his arm around Mitchell in a show of respect and had the cameras catch them holding each other’s arms up in mutual respect. As the post fight interviews were conducted, Tszyu credited Mitchell for his show of heart. Mitchell confessed that the unflattering remarks he made about Tszyu in the last few years was business, and not personal. Tszyu accepted that and both were gracious at the end of the day. It’s always nice to see good sportsmanship. Talk about closure.

Apparently the long lay off did nothing to impede Kostya Tszyu from having a dominating performance against a top-notch Interim Champion, who had everything on the line. Mitchell lost the biggest fight of his career but showed a lot of heart in the ring and I have nothing but respect for him. In his show of humility after the fight, I think he made peace with himself—after three years of anger and anxiousness to do it again with Kostya Tszyu. Though he lost in dramatic fashion, he has nothing to be ashamed of.

At 34 years of age, Mitchell still has very good boxing skills and will be a tough proposition for anyone else in the talent rich, 140-pound division. I expect we will see him back in the ring soon and hopefully, against top fighters.

“Vicious” Vivian Harris was on hand during the post fight interviews and practically called Tszyu out in a serious, yet congratulatory tone. Harris recently TKO’d Urkal Oktay, a man who Tszyu beat by decision in a tougher than expected fight back June of 2001. Harris looks much taller then Tszyu, who looked up at him and smiled.

Tszyu vs. Harris would be an interesting fight. Harris’ defense is not as good as his offense. Tszyu is well rounded in all categories, with special points for his power. I like Harris but I expect Tszyu would win that one by KO, probably after the seventh round. But who can ever say for sure?

Harris might be better off fighting the up and coming Miguel Cotto before going after Tszyu. They were scheduled to duke it out but Harris ended up fighting Oktay instead. Surely the politics of Boxing got in the way of that one happening. Cotto may be young but he is very strong and has impressive skills. Can Harris beat Cotto? It’s a good question. The only way to answer that is obvious. Let them meet in the ring.

There are some big name match-ups for Tszyu at 140 that include Arturo Gatti, Ricky Hatton (which I doubt would ever go past the rumor stage), Vivian Harris and Miguel Cotto, all of whom are currently the Top Dogs at Jr. Welterweight.

With his impressive return, Kostya Tszyu has a lot of options. He can take on the above listed big name fighters in a quest that may take another two years or he may decide being home with his family is more rewarding than any huge, mega-fight payday. When asked about who he’d like to fight next, he says he wants, “Big names.” Sounds like a man who is considering retirement in the not too distant future and wants to go out with a bang instead of a whimper.

If you've been keeping up with Sharkie’s Machine, you know the match up I want to see is: Kostya Tszyu vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. It has the potential to be Fight of the Year. Mayweather is fast, elusive and potent. He can strike from all angles. Tszyu is strong, smart, well balanced and has a great ability to time his punches.

Mayweather is considered one of the best fighters in the sport. There’s no better way to prove his worth than to see him fight the man who has time and again proven that he is the best Jr. Welter on the map—Kostya Tszyu.