i've never heard any stories of kostya ducking anybody, but i've heard a few who did their best to steer clear of him but am curious how many of the good fighters did?
This was exactly the problem. Mayweather called out Zoo @ 135 and 140. He even said after one of his fights that he didn't think the fight would ever get made because Zoo was Showtime and he was HBO.
Depends on what 'ducking' really means. When asked about fighting Tszyu in his prime...Floyd said he'd fight Tszyu when Tszyu was as old as his uncle was when Tszyu fought him. (did that make sense?) Floyd and Tszyu then did discuss fighting after Tszyu beat Mitchell...ironically Tszyu now being as old as Roger was. So I'd say yes...you could say Mayweather ducked him in his prime...as he's made excuses regarding the possibility of fighting him. De La Hoya and Tszyu were lined up to fight before Phillips derailed it. Then they discussed it again after Mitchell 2...and Hatton derailed it. So I don't think De La Hoya ducked him. Mosely said often he thought Tszyu would be a tough fight...but again, he got offered De La Hoya fights around the time a matchup was being discussed...obviously bigger profile and better money. Not a question of ducking more than just plain sense. Tszyu mentioned in a radio interview that they'd approached Cotto at one point...and if memory serves me they said Cotto needed more fights before they'd fight Tszyu. Again...is that ducking? Ducking really is a strange concept...Tszyu was certainly a high risk fight for anyone in the 135-147 range and didn't quite bring in the money like some of the other high profile fights around those weights. You can't blame guys for taking more financially viable options.
Correct me if am wrong but i think DLH was going to fight Kostya Tszyu but zoo lost to Vince cant remember well but anyway's it would have been a great fight.
Noboddy big that I know of as far as the Mosleys,DLHs,Mayweathers and what not. There where always much bigger fights for every guy.