Winner and why? Kostya would stop or easily outpoint Shakur. Shakur's not going to box and move against Kostya for 12 rounds. Tszyu catches Shakur with his measuring left hand and find a home for that right at will. Tszyu cuts the ring off and there's nowhere to hide for Shakur. He can't sustain Tszyu's power. Tszyu wins by a landslide decision or by stoppage. Shakur's never stepped in against anyone with the calibre of Kostya. Stylistically and strategically it's the worst possible match up for Shakur. Tszyu comfortably.
Lol. Cool thread. Shakur mystifies Tim so badly Tim goes No Mas after the 8th round, faking an injury. Quits on his stool. Come on now.
1) The thread is about Kostya, not Tim. And at 140, Kostya, who is probably the biggest puncher in history at that weight, might actually kill this poor sod. It’s a Judah-style spectacular KO. Probably inside 5. AND 2) Shakur is 20lb lighter than Tim. He’s not in any universe going to be able to keep Tim off him. Tim is much bigger, stronger and hits harder than feather-fist Stevenson. Tim walks straight through him. KO 1. Hell, Nikita at 154lb stops midget Shakur.
I am not a big fan of Shakur, but he’s being pretty slept on here… The kid has taken some tough fights, and hasn’t even looked vulnerable. Kostya was great, but Sharmba Mitchell and Zab Judah realistically maybe aren’t even better wins than Shakur over Teofimo, Zepeda, and Valdez…. As hard as that may be to take in…
Oh please mate, there is a class difference here. For starters Stevenson cannot possibly hurt Tszyu. So that leaves him exposed to a guy who hits like a sledgehammer and is going to walk him down until he catches him. If Shakur had a bit more dynamite then he’d give himself a chance but unfortunately he doesn’t which makes him a pretty straightforward setup for Kostya. Judah was miles better than Lopez too. Sharmba possibly a level below that. I don’t dislike Stevenson. In fact, I like him a lot and he’s obviously a class act but there is an irony to the comment that he is being slept on in this instance, given Kostya Tszyu cops more unfair criticism over one unexpected loss than any boxer on this forum.
Fair points, and I’m not saying I’d favor him… But acting like it’s a foregone conclusion that he loses isn’t right either. Yes, the lack of fire power could be his undoing - but he also has what it takes to make that work: Top tier defense, and the discipline not to commit more than needed. Also, over all, im not sure Judah is actually better than Teo… Yes he “looks” better, but he always seemed to drop the ball when it mattered most. Teo has looked bad against lesser opp at times, but Judah himself has a loss to Carlos Baldomir..
The win over Judah gets underrated by people trying to say Tszyu is overrated. Judah went on to unify the welterweight division after he lost to Tszyu he also gave Mayweather one of his toughest fights then later in his career won another world title back down at super lightweight after beating the much feared Mattysse in a close fight. Tszyu was a 3 to 1 underdog going into the Judah fight. Judah is far better than any win on Shakur's resume.
….and Teo beat the “much feared” Lomachenko cleanly, before anyone else, and unified champ Josh Taylor.. It’s easy to look on the past with rose tinted goggles, but if we’re being objective, it’s not that simple to say “Judah is better.” because he lost to Mayweather after doing good for 4 rounds and won titles… Love him or hate him, Teofimo has accomplished a lot in his career already, enough to where it’s only fair to consider him on a level with Judah who basically proved to be around the same level as Teo has thus far over his career.. (Very good, but not quite the best…Judah losing virtually every fight against A class competition should be enough evidence of this….)