Thursday, Feb. 1, 2001 | 9:58 a.m.
It's a fight that features two world champions, each of whom says he would like to do something about his pigeonholed reputation.
Kostya Tszyu, a noted slugger, wants to show some diversity and movement.
Sharmba Mitchell, respected for his athleticism, wants to exhibit his punching power.
Whether either man will stray from what has worked best in the past remains to be seen when they square off Saturday night at Mandalay Bay in a Showtime-televised fight that tops a Don King-promoted card.
Tszyu, who hold the World Boxing Council's 140-pound championship, is 25-1-1 with 21 knockouts and has won seven consecutive fights by knockout. He hasn't had a fight go the distance since 1995.
Mitchell, who is the World Boxing Association junior welterweight champ, is 47-2 with 29 KOs but has seen his five most recent fights go the distance. He hasn't won a fight by knockout since 1998.
"The name of the game is stick and move, but I'm concentrating on trying to get my punches off a little faster," Mitchell said of improving his KO quotient.
"People think I have only power and not the skills," Tszyu counters. "That's good ... but I have a lot of plans and a few different tactics for this fight and I think one of them is going to work."
Tszyu is a 4-1 betting favorite for a unification fight that, allegedly, will lead to the winner facing International Boxing Federation champion Zab Judah this summer. If all goes according to plan, when the smoke clears there will be a single junior welterweight champion.
"I don't see that Judah makes a difference to either my or Tszyu's career," Mitchell said, dismissing the youngest member of the championship trio. "Tszyu and I are the best fighters in the division."
Mitchell, 30, has been the WBA champion since earning a decision over Khalid Rahilou in October of '98. He has defended the title four times against mixed competition, gaining decision wins over Pedro Saiz, Reggie Green, Elio Ortiz and Felix Flores.
The two defeats that blemish his record came back to back in 1994 when he lost to Leavander Johnson and Stevie Johnston in consecutive fights in Las Vegas. Mitchell was stopped in both of those losses, putting his chin into question.
"In those fights I didn't prepare myself," Mitchell said of the losses. "I beat myself. But I'm prepared each and every time now and I'm doubly prepared for this one."
He said he has come to realize he is a commodity in a competitive business.
"Now I treat this as a job, not just as a sport," he said. "I'm really in my prime years but I think I am really old to boxing. I've been a pro a long time."
Mitchell turned pro in 1988 and labored for years on King undercards. While the losses to Johnson and Johnston cost him a title shot, he recovered to win 11 straight fights -- including one over Terronn Millett -- to become the mandatory challenger to Rahilou.
He went to Paris, France, and won that fight in impressive style, knocking Rahilou down four times en route to a lopsided points win.
"I put myself in with the elite, like Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali and Roy Jones," Mitchell said, his winning streak now at 16.
Yet Tszyu is his most formidable opponent in years, if not ever.
"Tszyu has punching power, but other than that I don't see anything great about him," Mitchell said with a frankness he will need to support in the ring.
Tszyu, 31, is in the midst of his second title reign, having once been the IBF champion before losing to Vince Phillips in 1997. But he rebounded and claimed the WBC belt by knocking out Miguel Angel Gonzalez two years ago and has since beaten Ahmed Santos and, last July, Julio Cesar Chavez.
"I've become a much wiser boxer," Tszyu said of his development. "I have a lot of experience."
Asked what he anticipates in this fight with Mitchell, Tszyu hinted that he's still relying on his power to settle matters.
"It is going to be tactical at the beginning of the fight, probably," he said. "But one connection can change everything. Everybody knows I'm a big hitter and Mitchell knows it, too."
He said he didn't necessarily buy Mitchell's claim that he's working on his power.
"He has a lot of good movement and is a very good technician," Tszyu said. "We'll see about the extra power."
As for Mitchell being a southpaw, Tszyu said it was no concern.
"I've fought a lot of southpaws and never had any problem with them," he said. "In fact I'm more comfortable with them than with an orthodox-style fighter."
Tabbed as the semi-main event on Saturday's card is a fight of questionable value, as Andy Tabanas and Falan Sakkririn are scheduled for 12 rounds at 108 pounds. Tabanas is 40-4-1 and has twice fought for strawweight world titles, losing both times, including once to Sakkririn in 1991. Sakkririn is 43-2-1 and has not had a title fight since 1992.
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