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 Kostya Tszyu, The Family Guy
By Sean Stowell (August 13, 2004)
Photos © Tom Casino
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LOS ANGELES - It has been more than a year-and-a-half since Kostya Tszyu has been inside a boxing ring, due to a number of ailments that have kept him relatively inactive since he unified the junior welterweight title nearly three years ago.
Sitting in a brown leather chair in a banquet room above the Cicada Restaurant near the city's jewelry district, Tszyu talked about how anxious he is to get back in the ring on November 6 on Showtime against Sharmba Mitchell, and how during his time away from boxing he's become a soccer dad.
Tszyu has been able to spend more time with his wife Natasha and their three children, Timophey, 10, Nikita, 7 and Anastasia, 3. His boys are already excelling in soccer, and Tszyu describes Nikita as a "scoring machine."
It's been an adjustment for the family having dad home, but it's an adjustment Tszyu was more than happy to be a part of.
"In the past I was training so much that I didn't get a chance to see my boys grow," Tszyu said of his sons, Timophey, 10 and Nikita, 7. "I've been able to see my daughter grow."
Anastasia, unlike her big brothers, is used to having dad around the house.
"She is different than the other kids," he joked. "She's not afraid of me. I have been learning how to be a parent, because in the past I was gone so much, but it's been a great experience seeing them achieve new things everyday."
He said Anastasia has great balance for her age, and he fears she's the boxer of the bunch.
"I think she's a boxer," Tszyu said with a laugh. "I'm the only boxer in the family. I don't want her to be a boxer."
As the boxer in the family, Tszyu knows the trial and tribulations of this sport, and he also knows the tremendous rewards that can be reaped when you are on top of the game.
At 34-years-old, he has had only 32 professional bouts, compiling a record of 30-1 with 24 KOs and 1 no-contest. He won his first world title nearly three years after turning pro with a sixth round knockout over Jake Rodriguez to take the IBF junior welterweight crown. He would lose that belt to Vince Phillips in 1997, but grabbed the vacant WBC strap in 1999, knocking
out Miguel Angel Gonzalez.
He then met Mitchell in February 2001 and won the WBA title, and got back the IBF title with a stunning second round knockout over Zab Judah. Just when he was starting to make a name for himself in the United States, the Russian born Tszyu, who resides in Australia, seemed to disappear. After fighting Ben Tackie in May of 2002, he had an eight month layoff before
dispatching of Jesse James Leija. After the Leija fight he suffered back-to-back Achilles and shoulder injuries. The injuries postponed his rematch with Mitchell from September of last year to February of this year, and finally, to a scheduled date in November.
Tszyu has been named a "super champion" by the WBC and IBF - Arturo Gatti and Mitchell, hold the "regular" titles respectively, and Vivian Harris now has the WBA belt after that organization stripped Tszyu of the title because of his long layoff.
Now that it looks like he'll be coming back for sure, the only obstacle is finding the place to do it.
Tszyu and his promoter Vlad Warton have been on a media tour of the United States, looking for the best place for Tszyu to not only fight, but to make the most money. Monday they were in New York, drumming up excitement within the large Russian population in that city, and they were doing the same here.
According to a 1997 study conducted by California State University Northridge, approximately 15 percent of the population in the greater Los Angeles area is Russian.
"A big factor in where this fight is held is whether or not Kostya can cross over to the Russian population," Warton said. "Both LA and New York have big Russian populations so we'd like to have the fight on one of these cities, and Las Vegas is also an option."
Warton, who attended the Vitali Klitschko-Corrie Sanders fight at Staples Center in April, said he was impressed with the Eastern European turnout at the event.
Rubbing a gold chain with silver boxing gloves affixed to it, between his index finger and thumb, Tszyu pondered the many reasons he wants to get back into the ring, especially with Mitchell.
"He's a bum," Tszyu said. "It's been like a soap opera with him saying I'm avoiding him. Well let's do business."
Tszyu believes the only thing Mitchell has going for him is his mouth, and he wants to silence his opponent and his critics once and for all.
The other reason he wants back into the ring so bad, is that he feels if he retired from the game because of his injuries, he would be quitting, and he wants to teach his children that quitting is not an option.
"If I had retired because of my injuries it would have been like I quit," he said. "How would I explain that to my kids? I have to live by example because they've always been behind me no matter what."
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E-Mail Sean Stowell at seanstowell@hotmail.com
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