http://english.mn.ru/english/issue.php?2006-39-6
Kostya Tszyu, Professor of Boxing
By Nikolai Dmitriyev The Moscow News
Konstantin (Kostya) Tszyu, one of the best Russian boxers, intends to return to the ring at age 37, and then leave undefeated
Russian: Профессор на ринге
Konstantin Tszyu is rightly called “professor-in-the-ring.” Not so long ago the ex-champion of the world enrolled in a correspondence program at the Urals State Technical University (UGTU-UPI) Institute of Physical Culture, Social Services and Tourism. Konstantin says he hopes to complete the course in two years with a degree in sports management.
Tszyu agreed to take a break and grant an interview with Moskovskie Novosti.
Are you not tired of studying?
As a matter of fact, I did not study too much. In my younger days I entered a teacher training institute in my home town of Serov, but because of intensive training I often had to miss classes and was subsequently expelled. I’m not sorry about this. Today I’m known throughout the world. I’ve made a pretty good sports career. Otherwise I would’ve become some sort of librarian or gym trainer. No thanks: Competitive sport has always been of paramount importance to me.
Are sport fans still going to see you in the ring, or are you done with sport?
On the contrary, I intend to return to the big ring and start training for a championship fight, and only then will I “retire” - undefeated. I want to challenge Briton Ricky Hatton, who beat me last June and even made me consider ending my sports career.
Do you have a serious injury?
Not long ago I underwent surgery on my shoulder which had bothered me for two years; I received a chronic shoulder injury in the victorious fight with American Sharmba Mitchell in the fall of 2004. But I did not tell anyone about that. In the fight with the Briton, the pain was especially acute. Every blow that I dealt hurt me terribly. And after the fight, my shoulder ached almost every day. All of that time I thought about continuing my career, but was unable to find enough motivation. Now after a successful operation, I feel I have a new incentive to show that I can still do something. I’ve left much unsaid in boxing so it is time to come back.
Do your associates approve of your decision to return to the ring?
Unfortunately not. My trainer Johnny Lewis is not thrilled by my plans. He believes that time is working against me. His view is shared by my wife, Natalya. But I’ve made up my mind. On September 19, I turned 37. In the eyes of my young competitors, I am a veteran. But I am in good shape. I don’t smoke, don’t abuse alcohol, and follow a diet. My body is telling me: Go back and win!
Kostya, recently you took up dancing and now there’s this university program - isn’t this a PR move?
It’s life in all of its manifestations. Recently I took part in Dancing with the Stars TV show in Australia. My partner was Jennifer Hawkins who was proclaimed the most beautiful girl in the world two years ago. Dancing is much better than being hit in the face. So I’m discovering an entirely new world for myself.
I learned to really dance and gained great appreciation on how physically demanding it is. We raised lots of money for The Smith Family charity and had a great time.
Dancing and boxing are abso-lutely different things. Earlier, I thought that dancing was a piece of cake compared with boxing, but I was wrong. My muscles never hurt after training in the ring as badly as they did after a dancing class. The movements are utterly different. For example, whereas in boxing you must keep your chin as low as possible, in dancing you need to move with your head raised proudly.
Did you practice much?
Several hours a day. I had to change several T-shirts and wring out the sweat during a class. This helps me stay in shape. Moreover,
I spend about an hour a day in the gym working out on exercise machines plus half an hour in the ring. In Australia, I am paid big money just for attending some event or other. But I pick and choose very carefully, and this is not just a matter of money. I have a name that should be handled with care and not be associated with anything dubious. For example, if it is stamped on some sport equipment, it should be really good equipment. Vyacheslav Fetisov (former Russian coach and hockey legend, now head of the Russian Federal Agency for Physical Culture and Sport. - Ed.) and I - we’ve been friends for a long time - are thinking of opening a Kostya Tzsyu club for children that will be free of charge. Perhaps my name will lead them to a healthy lifestyle.
Did you have to fight much in childhood?
Only when I had to. I hated injustice and was always ready to stand up to a bully no matter how big or how old he was. In Grade 1, I realized that what counted in a fight was not weight but the ability to strike so that a bully knows better next time. I never fought without a reason. Fighting was a form of self-assertion to me. My father noticed that and he took me to a boxing gym when I was nine. I have not parted with the boxing gloves since. I liked going to the gym even more than I liked going to the school. I was becoming stronger with every year. I enjoyed real authority with the boys who greatly respected me and often sought my advice.
Boxing began with pugilism that was glorified by Homer?
Pugilism and pancratium - a form of freestyle wrestling practiced in ancient Greece, allowing nearly unlimited use of the hands and feet - were Olympic sports. Incidentally, Pythagoras, the famous Greek philosopher and mathematician, was an Olympic champion. James (Jack) Broughton, an English bare-knuckle fighter, was the first person to ever codify a set of rules to be used in such contests, in 1743. (Prior to this the “rules” that existed were very loosely defined and tended to vary from contest to contest. His London Prize Ring rules are widely regarded as the foundation stone of the sport that would become boxing. - Ed.) The first boxing schools, or academies, appeared in England.
It seems life was easier in the olden days as many problems were resolved with fists more or less the moment they occurred.
In the past, many lawsuits were settled through bare-knuckle fights. Remember Mikhail Lermontov’s The Song of the Merchant Kalashnikov. The fights took place in specially designated public places in Moscow and were a sight to behold. This has nothing to do with street fights these days, especially between football fans, which are a disgrace to football.
What is life like down under, in the land of kangaroos?
Australians are wonderful people who are always ready to help. I have a large house not far from Sydney airport. Sometimes I miss the Russian birch trees although there are magnificent eucalyptus forests here. The fauna is amazing - what with the kangaroos, platypuses, marsupial moles, lungfish, and ostriches, let alone cassowaries, large flightless birds with three-toed feet and up to two meters tall. A journalist once quipped that I stayed in Australia because of cockatoos and koala bears. I really like them, but this is not the main thing. On the Green Continent, I feel free to do what I like. There are few bureaucrats, not least in sports, unlike in other countries.
Recently you visited your hometown, Serov. What were your impressions from the visit?
I got a little tired of visiting to Moscow all the time even though it keeps getting better all the time. In Serov, I went hunting. I had bliny that were made by my mother-in-law. I also received a proposal to take a course at the Urals State Technical University (UGTU-UPI) and I accepted it. Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first president, also holds a UGTU-UPI degree.
Do you have dual citizenship?
Everything is as it should be. We do not break any laws. My nationality is Russian. At least, this is how I feel. All of my children speak Russian and they know who Alexander Pushkin is. In my home I have this law: I don’t understand English. My children go to a Russian school once a week. My daughter is just three years old, but she already knows Russian letters.
What is it that you miss in Australia?
The Russian soul. There is none of the Russian hospitality or generosity in Australia. The Australians are kind but have none of the Russian soulfulness. They will never give the last cent they’ve got to a stranger. Like they say, “Russia cannot be understood with the mind. Russia requires blind belief” (reference to Russian 19th century poet Fyodor Tyutchev. - Ed.).
Would you like to return to Russia and become Fetisov’s deputy?
I have long been friends with Vyacheslav, but we never talk business during our meetings. Being a sports bureaucrat is not part of my plans. But my main plans are in Russia. Everything that I am attempting to do here is aimed above all to develop children’s sports. We are currently building a large sports center in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (the administrative center of Sakhalin Island, 6,500 miles east of Moscow. - Ed.). It will not only bear my name - it will also use my ideas. Another project is in Yekaterinburg, where we are planning to build a sport facility at the UGTU-UPI that will also bear my name.
not sure on the validity of this interview but its interesting if kostya does want to return. Do we think that he deserves a straight rematch with rick or should he fight some people first.
Kostya v witter anyone?
