Kostya Tszyu

Kostya Tszyu Костя Цзю
Tszyu in 2008
Born	Konstantin Borisovich Tszyu (1969-09-19) 19 September 1969 (age 55) Serov, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Australian (since 1993) Soviet (until 1991)
Other names	Thunder from Down Under
Statistics
Weight(s)	Light-welterweight
Height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)[1]
Reach	67 in (170 cm)[1]
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	34
Wins	31
Wins by KO	25
Losses	2
No contests	1
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  Soviet Union Goodwill Games 1990 Seattle Light-welterweight World Championships 1989 Moscow Lightweight 1991 Sydney Light-welterweight Junior World Championships 1987 Havana Lightweight European Championships 1989 Athens Lightweight 1991 Gothenburg Light-welterweight

Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu (/ˈkɒstə ˈzuː/; Russian: Константин Борисович «Костя» Цзю, IPA: [kənstɐnʲˈtʲin bɐˈrisəvʲɪtɕ ˈkosʲtʲə ˈdzːʲu]; born 19 September 1969) is a Russian-Australian former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2005. He held multiple world championships in the light-welterweight division, 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.^[2]

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.

In 1995, Tszyu won his first of many professional world championships at light-welterweight—the International Boxing Federation (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 World Boxing Council (WBC) title in 1999 and the World Boxing Association (WBA) (Super version) 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. 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.^[3] 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.^[4] In 2023, his son Tim Tszyu won the World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior-middleweight title.