What stopped Kostya Tszyu from moving to welterweight ?

I think it was a combination of factors. One, he was a showtime fighter and most of the welterweights of that era, Oscar, Shane and Vernon were HBO guys. Also, he was much smaller than those guys and from what I know, he comfortably made 140 where he was unified. I do remember him being tempted to return after the Hatton fight for big payday against Mayweather and Pac but nothing came of it.

It would have been interesting to see what his power would have been like at 147. I'm guessing he would not have been nearly as effective.

 

He was much better against Judah than Mayweather or Cotto. That means he would've beaten any of those guys. He probably just didn't see much challenge in it. You can't blame him for that, really. No war to fight, the warrior may as well be dead, Stallion.

 

He was pretty short with a short reach. 5-7 and 67". Those become a liability the farther up he moves in weight.

 

Size.

 

What Quartey did to Vince Phillips.

 

Exactly. There is another level of physicality at 147 vs 140. Koysta was known for his strength at 140 but at 147, he would have been run over by a guy like Quartey.

 

Look at the WW rankings when Tszyu was 140 champion. The WW division was as good as divisions get and it remained so until long after Tsyzu retired.

Tszyu was big enough to win at WW at a random time period in history. He could be a great WW champion today in 2026. In his time that was a no go zone for him. Same with JCC in a different time and place he could have been an ATG WW.

 

Tszyu would cut a lot of weight to make 140 and carried bulk into the ring but with the guys who were at 147, it just wouldn’t make sense to not only give away those advantages at 147, but to face the disadvantages through size there.