Kostya Tszyu Record & Stats

Boxing Record

Career Summary

Kostya Tszyu's professional boxing career spanned more than 13 years — from 1992 to 2005.

Tszyu made his debut against Darrell Hiles at the age of 22 on March 1, 1992, defeating Hiles via 1st round TKO. He went on to win 17 more consecutive fights after the debut, which included 13 wins via stoppage.

Tszyu had his first world title fight at the age of 25 on January 28, 1995 after 13 professional fights, against Jake Rodríguez for the super-lightweight IBF title. He defeated Rodríguez via 6th round TKO to become the super-lightweight champion of the world.

He was a undisputed super-lightweight world champion, and has won five world titles at super-lightweight. For all the details about Tszyu's world title wins and defenses refer to "Kostya Tszyu World Titles".

Some of Tszyu's best fights and notable victories include wins over Zab Judah, Sharmba Mitchell, Julio César Chávez, Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Jesse James Leija, Rafael Ruelas, and Roger Mayweather.

Kostya Tszyu had a total of two losses in his professional boxing career — both of them in title bouts. He suffered his first loss against Vince Phillips via 10th round TKO on May 31, 1997, which ended his 18-fight win streak. Both of Tszyu's losses came via stoppage. For more details about these defeats, refer to "All of Kostya Tszyu's losses".

His last professional fight was a super-lightweight title defense bout against British boxer Ricky Hatton on June 4, 2005. Tszyu lost the fight via 11th round RTD — and lost his IBF and The Ring titles. It's been 17 years and 8 months since this fight.

Tszyu retired from professional boxing with a record of 31-2, which included 25 knockout wins and 2 losses via knockout, and 5 title wins. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 2011.

Career Highlights

Kostya Tszyu fought a total of 34 times during his professional career. He was among the very best of his generation and put on some great performances. These eight fights are the highlight of his career.

• Kostya Tszyu vs. Jake Rodríguez

  January 28, 1995

  A 25-year old Kostya Tszyu (13-0, 10 KO) had his first world title fight against Jake Rodríguez for Rodríguez' IBF super-lightweight belt.

  Tszyu defeated Rodríguez via 6th round TKO to win the IBF super-lightweight title.

• Kostya Tszyu vs. Roger Mayweather

  June 25, 1995

  A 25-year old Kostya Tszyu (14-0, 11 KO) faced Roger Mayweather, who was 34 years old with a record of 54-11 in a super-lightweight title defense fight. Mayweather was on a three-fight win streak with 32 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 1 cm and also had a 17 cm reach advantage over Tszyu.

  Tszyu defeated Mayweather via 12 round unanimous decision to retain the IBF super-lightweight title.

• Kostya Tszyu vs. Miguel Ángel González

  August 21, 1999

  A 29-year old Kostya Tszyu (22-1, 18 KO) faced Miguel Angel Gonzalez, who was 28 years old with a record of 43-1-1 for the vacant super-lightweight title. Gonzalez was on a one-fight win streak with 33 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 4 cms and also had a 3 cm reach advantage over Tszyu.

  Tszyu defeated González via 10th round TKO to win the vacant WBC super-lightweight title.

• Kostya Tszyu vs. Julio César Chávez

  July 29, 2000

  A 30-year old Kostya Tszyu (24-1, 20 KO) faced Julio César Chávez, who was 38 years old with a record of 103-4-2 in a super-lightweight title defense fight. Chávez was on a one-fight win streak with 84 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 1 cm and also had a 3 cm reach advantage over Tszyu.

  Tszyu defeated Chávez via 6th round TKO to retain the WBC super-lightweight title.

• Kostya Tszyu vs. Sharmba Mitchell

  February 3, 2001

  A 31-year old Kostya Tszyu (25-1, 21 KO) faced Sharmba Mitchell, who was 30 years old with a record of 47-2 in a super-lightweight unification fight. Mitchell was on a 16-fight win streak with 28 KO wins. Both the boxers were of the same height but Mitchell had a 13 cm reach advantage over Tszyu.

  Tszyu defeated Mitchell via 7th round RTD to win the WBA (Super) super-lightweight title and retain the WBC super-lightweight title.

• Kostya Tszyu vs. Zab Judah

  November 3, 2001

  A 32-year old Kostya Tszyu (27-1, 22 KO) faced an undefeated Zab Judah, who was 24 years old with a record of 27-0 in a undisputed super-lightweight championship bout. Judah was on a 27-fight win streak with 21 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 1 cm and also had a 13 cm reach advantage over Tszyu.

  Tszyu defeated Judah via 2nd round TKO to win the IBF and vacant Ring Magazine super-lightweight titles and retain the WBA (Super) and WBC super-lightweight titles. He handed Judah the first loss of his career, and put an end to Judah's 27-fight win streak.

• Kostya Tszyu vs. Jesse James Leija

  January 19, 2003

  A 33-year old Kostya Tszyu (29-1, 23 KO) faced Jesse James Leija, who was 36 years old with a record of 43-5-2 in a undisputed super-lightweight championship bout. Leija was on a three-fight win streak with 17 KO wins. Tszyu was the taller of the two by 5 cms but both had the same reach.

  Tszyu defeated Leija via 6th round RTD to retain the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, and Ring Magazine super-lightweight titles.

• Kostya Tszyu vs. Sharmba Mitchell II

  November 6, 2004

  In a rematch, a 35-year old Kostya Tszyu (30-1, 24 KO) faced Sharmba Mitchell, who was now 34 years old with a record of 55-3 in a super-lightweight title defense fight. Mitchell was on a eight-fight win streak with 30 KO wins. Both the boxers were of the same height but Mitchell had a 13 cm reach advantage over Tszyu.

  Tszyu defeated Mitchell via 3rd round TKO to retain the IBF and Ring Magazine super-lightweight titles.