Two all time greats. Guy DLH wins a close decision. But truthfully could go either way and probably would in multiple fights.
You can’t possible think DLH avoided him or anyone?! Great match up all agree. Think DLH takes it but you never know. Also Oscar fought Chavez for the first time four years before Tszyu. Both dominated also Oscar put first loss on undefeated Gonzalez. Probably wrong choices in opponents. Where I would go is what Kostya did to Zudah and Hurtado (who gave Pernell a life and death fight).
Kostya Tszyu was very much in the 'don't fight him if you don't have to' category. Particularly while he was undefeated. Oscar competed on the international amateur circuit at the same time Kostya did. He knew better than anyone posting on this thread how good Kostya Tszyu was. The top A-level Americans at the time who were well advised didn't fight him (Oscar, Shane Mosley & a bit later on, Floyd). It took a young, foolish one, who wasn't quite A-level, to get in the ring with him & by then he wasn't undefeated & had slowed up a bit.
I deal with reality, Pimp. Not like American boxing fans who can't possibly contemplate that their heroes could be fallible. Oscar, to a lesser extent, Shane Mosley & Floyd fought who they wanted. None of them ever really wanted Kostya Tszyu.
Best I've Faced: Miguel Angel Gonzalez BEST PUNCHER Kostya Tszyu: “Kostya for his devastating way of hitting. Julio and Oscar had a respectful power. [Kostya] made me struggle on several occasions. My corner was worried and they considered stopping the fight, which happened anyway.” BEST OVERALL Tszyu: “Kostya as he beat me by KO. His explosive way of finishing off rivals. He was a Demolition Man. Chavez and De La Hoya were both very good, true idols of the people. It was a great honor to fight them.” Livingstone Bramble BEST PUNCHER Kostya Tszyu: There’s nobody I’ve been in the ring with that hits as hard as Tszyu. Roger (Mayweather) punched hard but, if you look at the tape, Roger hit me behind the ear. It wasn’t a legitimate, correct punch. I can’t give it to him. I don’t know if it was because of how old I was or where I was at in my career but Kostya Tszyu was a hard puncher. The guy stayed focused. He knew where to hit and he knew when to hit. When he hit me, the first shot to the kidney, I dropped. My kidney shut off. There was nobody who hit me and gave me something to think about…he did. When he hit me, I said to myself, ‘Man, I’ve got a wife and kids. This guy’s not killing me.’ I thought about my family in the ring. Kostya hit like a mule. You couldn’t take two good shots from Kostya Tszyu because you’d be totally done. BEST DEFENSE Kostya Tszyu: That would have to be Kostya Tszyu. He was very hard to hit. He punches real hard and he kind of pulls back when you come at him but you couldn’t charge him because he had so much power, so you had to be careful how you go into him. BEST OVERALL Kostya Tszyu: Only a couple of guys I learned something from. I learned something from Roger Mayweather. He was very strong. I would think Kostya Tszyu. I think it was his power. He was a very difficult guy to fight.' Jake Rodriguez BEST HANDSPEED Kostya Tszyu: "Believe it or not Kostya Tszyu was kinda fast, he throws three, four punch combinations fast and strong. It caught me many times, I went down in that fight five times." BEST PUNCHER Tszyu: "He hurt me. A very hard puncher."
He was also in the "He's a Showtime fighter, while XXXX fights on HBO." It took Mike Tyson and Lenox Lewis to finally get the networks to work together. Ands even that didn't go smoothly.
Again with this Floyd ducked Tszyu nonsense. 2 things, facts you need to realize. FM moved to 140 in May 2004, KT came back after an almost year and a half layoff due to injury in November 2004. KT fought Hatton in June 2005 then retired. 7 months KT and Mayweather actively fought in the same division and it was KT that retired. And yet, somehow, you believe FM ducked. Please explain how you come to believe this. Because I'm certain that if it were Mayweather that retired after KT moved into his division, you'd be chirping that FM retired instead of facing Tszyu.
Yep you are not allowed to have any bad performances or lose any fights otherwise you are a bum because upsets never happen in boxing