Few fighters prepared for fights with the intensity and attention to detail Kostya Tszyu did. But he just did not have natural stamina...I think it could have been also he was moulded into such an efficient 4 round machine for his am days that he still used a lot of those training techniques. Either way his tendency to gas is well documented and happened in fights where the pace would have been no where near as brisk as it would be for this one. His workrate in terms of punches thrown was never something that stuck out to me..though he was always working, prodding for gaps and pressuring..He was generally more of a patient stalker, even when finishing he was pretty relaxed.
Clottey and Tszyu are 2 diffrent animals. Pac has to open up on Clottey and took many risks so he can have an opening, and also knowing that Clottey does not hit so hard. And I say this. Clottey is a more difficult fight for Pac than Tszyu. Clottey is bigger, and way better defense - he made Pac look bad in that fight.
tszyu is not fast on his feet so i guess pac will somehow tko him in the later rounds. pac has chin so i dont think tszyu will knock pac out. also, tszyu is not a counterpuncher.
I know Clottey and Tszyu aren't similar at all...but my comparison was the right hand. Pacquiao isn't hard to hit with the right hand at all...and if Tszyu can hit him, he can hurt him. And I know Pacquiao has a great chin, but if you can be hit...you can be hurt, and Tszyu had a great straight right. His timing would have to be spot on if he were up against Pacquiao though. Pacquiao did open up against Clottey to try to persuade Clottey to drop his defense and trade. But, not every right hand Pacquiao was caught with was when Pacquiao was employing this tactic. Anyone with a good straight right, combined with good timing can catch Pacquiao with it.
I'm curious as to when Tszyu's chin became suspect? He spent his career walking through big punches to give his own ... and Phillips aside (who landed a brutal hail mary to stop Tszyu on the feet ... not any different to Castillo who was in a worse way than Tszyu) ... Doesn't Tszyu have as good or better chin than Manny and hits harder? Stamina could definitely prove a problem but Morales and Clottey hit Manny alot with the right and boxing smartly, JMM controlled the pace ... something I think Tszyu was good at too if in a different way. Manny is hittable and that spells trouble versus Kostya.
Kostya had more than just good timing; his technique although a little different to what's taught in the US was masterful.