Kostya Tszyu is a Russia born boxer who is an Australian citizen and is a four time world junior welterweight champion, including a period of time as the undisputed junior welterweight champion.
The son of a fitter in a metal factory and a nurse, Tszyu was born in Serov, a town near the Ural Mountains, in the former Soviet Union. Tszyu was the first champion to unify the junior welterweight division in over 30 years.
Kostya participated in the 1988 Olympic Games. At the Cuban world championship tournament in 1987, he came in second place, and at the Seoul Olympic games, he lost in the third round.
In 1991, he went again to the amateur world championships, this time held in Sydney. This was a trip that would change his life forever. Not only was the third time his charm, but he felt enchanted with the sights of Sydney and its people, and decided he wanted to live in Australia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1992, Tszyu fled to Australia with his girlfriend, where they married in 1993 and became Australian citizens. Before marrying her, though, Tszyu had already turned professional, beating Darrell Hiles by a knockout in one round on March 1, 1992, at Melbourne.
In 1995, he received his first world title shot when he fought IBF world junior welterweight champion Jake Rodriguez at Las Vegas, Nevada. Tszyu became world champion by knocking Rodriguez out in the sixth round, and then defended the world title, beating former world junior lightweight and junior welterweight champion Roger Mayweather by a decision in 12, Hugo Pineda by a knockout in 11, Cory Johnson by a knockout in four and Jan Bergman by a knockout in six. After this string of defences, Tszyu became a highly touted world champion by many boxing magazines, and many articles about him appeared on Ring Magazine, KO Magazine, and other American boxing publications.
On June 5, 2005, against British boxer Ricky Hatton, Tszyu lost this fight, and his world title, by TKO after retiring on his stool at the end of the 11th round.
His record currently is of 32 professional wins (of which 25 are by knockout), two losses and one no contest. He is considered by many in Australia to be a national sports hero.