Columnist Dean Juipe: Tszyu motivated again

Dean Juipe

Thursday, May 9, 2002 | 9:29 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

In the aftermath of the biggest win of his career, Kostya Tszyu enjoyed the attention he received while acknowledging it was a bit harder to get back in the gym and knuckle down with another fight on the horizon.

Tszyu, 32, is in Las Vegas and training for a May 18 fight with Ben Tackie at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. A native of Russia and a resident of Australia, Tszyu said he is back on course after initially lacking motivation following his Nov. 3 TKO-2 win over Zab Judah at the MGM Grand Garden.

"It took a month to enjoy myself in the gym again," he said Wednesday during a conference call. "But then I found the hunger again."

He says he's driven to look his best and he obviously takes pride in the fact that only he, Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins are reigning undisputed champions. Tszyu, 28-1 with 23 knockouts, owns each of the major titles at 140 pounds.

His upcoming opponent, Tackie, is 24-2 with 15 KOs and holds a pair of minor titles.

"There's a bit more (respect) than it used to be," Tszyu said of the acclaim that has been directed his way since handling Judah with surprising ease.

In that fight, Tszyu put Judah on the canvas twice and caused referee Jay Nady to intervene. Nady stopped the fight much to Judah's chagrin, as the fighter shoved the referee and later threw a stool, which prompted a suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Tszyu will find Tackie a willing combatant but one who is apt to be outclassed against such a top-flight slugger.

"Tackie's a fighter who can stay in front of you all night and has a great chin," Tszyu said. "In a basic sense, he's a great fighter. He throws many punches and has a good right hand.

"Fighting him is a big challenge."

Nonetheless, Tszyu is a solid 3-1 betting favorite and few if any observers have surfaced who believe Tackie will win.

"I'm not taking any shortcuts," Tszyu said of his training schedule.

He cites a 1997 loss to Vince Phillips as part of his ongoing motivation.

"I did a lot of changes in my preparation (after that defeat)," Tszyu said. "It gave me a lot of good experience. It helped me become who I am now.

"As the undisputed champion, I have to be ready to face anybody."

This will be Tszyu's first defense as undisputed champion and his third fight in Las Vegas in 15 months. In February, 2001, he handled Sharmba Mitchell here and he also beat Oktay Urkal last year (in Connecticut) prior to the fight with Judah.

He offered no prediction on his fight with Tackie and said he was in good health.

"I never refuse a fight," Tszyu said, "(and) this was a fight I couldn't refuse."

Tackie, 28, advanced to this fight by stopping Teddy Reid in five rounds and also holds wins over Ray Oliveira and Golden Johnson at 140 pounds. But at 135, Tackie was beaten by John John Molina and Goyo Vargas in one-sided fights that went to the judges.

While Tszyu was asked what other fights might intrigue him -- including a rematch with Judah -- he refused to speculate and said he was focused only on Tackie. Promoter Vlad Wharton injected that Tszyu has many options, should he get past this upcoming bout unscathed.

"There are a lot of exciting fights at junior welterweight if Kostya decides to stay with it," Wharton said. "It's a division that's alive with nonstop contenders."

Veteran flyweight Scotty Olson has announced his retirement with a 34-4-2 record that included 25 knockouts, and he will be feted at a dinner Friday in his native Edmonton, Canada. He regularly headlined cards in Las Vegas during his heyday. ... Saturday's Felix Trinidad vs. Hacine Cherifi card in Puerto Rico is being promoted by Don King and includes a mammoth 12 bouts. HBO will televise the main event, which Trinidad is expected to win with some ease. ... Former North Las Vegas constable Lou Tabat has been named a judge for the May 18 title fight in Tokyo between WBA super bantamweight champ Yoddamrong Sithyodthrong and challenger Osamu Sato. ... The primary undercard fight on the Kostya Tszyu-Ben Tackie show looks to be in jeopardy and could be canceled as early as today. Hercules Kyvelos was to have met Oba Carr in a welterweight pairing of some intere st, given Kyvelos' undefeated status and Carr's lengthy resume.

Las Vegas-based welterweight Mohamad Abdulaev, 7-0, will test Juan C. Rivera, 12-0, in a bout Saturday from Biloxi, Miss., to be televised by Showtime. ... USBA cruiserweight champ Kelvin Davis of Las Vegas will take a nontitle fight as part of a May 24 card in Tulsa on ESPN2. Davis, 17-0-1, will meet Cleveland Nelson, 13-2, in a 10-round fight. ... The Las Vegas Hilton has a May 25 card promoted by Cedric Kushner with the usual heavyweight suspects. Terrance Lewis, 30-11, takes on Robert Davis, 26-4, in the main event, and Davarryl Williamson, 15-1, meets Dale Crowe, 21-5-2, in the primary undercard feature. Duncan Dokiwari of Las Vegas is also on the card. ... The Orleans will have a Top Rank card June 7. ... Phoenix has landed the Acelino Freitas vs. Daniel Attah card that was up for grabs and targeted for Aug. 3. ... NSAC judge Patricia Jarman-Manning turned down a spot on HBO's telecast of the Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson fight June 8 in Memphis. "I was thrilled and shocked to be asked," she said. "But it didn't feel like the right thing to do.""