Tszyu feels he’s at his peak

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001 | 10:57 a.m.

On the phone for a conference call Wednesday from Australia, World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association junior welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu said he's looking forward to solidifying his reputation when he takes on fellow champ Zab Judah Nov. 3 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"I've got my plans to do what I have to do," Tszyu said. "One is to come in and destroy everything and make a good, strong impression."

A renowned amateur who has but a single loss in a 10-year professional career, Tszyu admits that he needs to be impressive while on the international stage that the MGM fight will provide.

"I live so far away from your country and you can't see me much," he said of being somewhat underpublicized in spite of his achievements.

He's 27-1-1 with 22 knockouts and well past the negative effects of a 1995 loss to Vince Phillips.

"Before the loss I was in the top five (in the mythical "pound for pound" listings)," Tszyu said. "Then, after a good beating, I went down. I can say I'm in the top 10 now and winning this fight would put me in the top five."

At the age of 32 he believes he's at the top of his game.

"I'm feeling much, much better and stronger at this age than I was earlier," he said. "It's not hard to train and I still have the desire to go to the gym; I'm still there without any problem."

He said he's virtually in fighting shape and is just refining his game with the bout only two weeks away.

His promoter, Vlad Wharton, is calling on him to win the unification fight with Judah, who holds the International Boxing Federation title at 140 pounds. "Now's the time to prove who the great champion is," Wharton said.

Judah, 24, is 27-0 with 21 knockouts and is a slick southpaw with top-flight speed.

Judah is the betting favorite in Las Vegas sports books and is up at a minus 360 around town. Tszyu is a plus 280.

"He's got great power because of his speed," Tszyu said. "He's got very good and sharp hands. The punches go everywhere (but) he's throwing so many that a few of them land and his opponent goes down."

Tszyu and Judah shared a June card with separate events, giving each man a close look at the other. Tszyu, who defeated Oktay Urkal on that card while Judah handled Allan Vester, said he is not intimidated by Judah's left-handed style.

"I've got no problem at all with southpaws," he said. "I've fought a lot of them and sometimes it's even easier."

Among the lefties Tszyu has handled were then-champions Sharmba Mitchell and Jake Rodriguez. He also has faced a very high caliber of opponent through the years and has victories over Juan LaPorte, Livingstone Bramble, Roger Mayweather, Rafael Ruelas, Diobelys Hurtado, Miguel Angel Gonzalez and Julio Cesar Chavez.

He said Judah's speed doesn't worry him because "I've fought against guys faster than me and it never made a difference," listing Mitchell and Hurtado in particular.

"In a few rounds that hand speed disappeared," he added. "Usually I break (my opponent) down inside, then, after a few more punches, they're gone."

With Judah having a questionable chin -- he was down against Jan Bergman, Terronn Millett and Reggie Green -- a simple way to view the upcoming fight is to say it matches Tszyu's strength against Judah's quickness, which generates his power. Bettors may be leaning toward the faster man, but, as Wharton has said, the odds will be meaningless once the bell rings.

"I never predict a knockout," Tszyu said. "But he has to neutralize my power, and that's a task equal to what I'm facing. I'm very confident."