PHOENIX, Arizona, 8 November 2004 — Kostya Tszyu looked anything but rusty Saturday as he dismantled Sharmba Mitchell in less than three rounds to retain his International Boxing Federation super lightweight title.
Russian-born Australian Tszyu, fighting for the first time in 22 months, battered former champion Mitchell from the start to a quick finish, knocking him down four times before referee Raul Caiz called a halt at 2:48 of the third.
“I told you I had a surprise, but I never expected this fight to end so early,” said Tszyu, who said he never feared that declining to take a tune-up fight before defending his title would prove a mistake. “I knew all along that the right hand would work for me. I worked really hard. I was very confident. This is a great knockout and great victory for me.”
The Aussie champion, who improved to 31-1 with 25 wins inside the distance as he solidified his status at the top of the 140-pound division, sent Mitchell to the canvas for the first time late in the second round with a straight right.
It was only moments into the second round when Tszyu sent him down again with another right. Mitchell fought on, but Tszyu’s power proved too much for him. Near the end of the round Mitchell, against the ropes, went down twice more.
“I was very surprised he kept getting up,” Tszyu said. “To come back like he did shows what a great champion Sharmba Mitchell is.”
Tszyu had suffered a small vertical cut over the inside of his left eyebrow in an accidental head butt in the first round, but it never was a factor. Mitchell, who had been eagerly awaiting a rematch with Tszyu after the Australian scored a seventh-round technical knockout in their first encounter in 2001, fell to 55-4.
Mitchell, 34, had been unable to continue beyond the seventh in that fight because of a knee injury.
His chance at redemption was postponed when Tszyu suffered an Achilles’ tendon injury before a scheduled rematch in September 2003. Weeks before the new date in February of this year, Tszyu ruptured a tendon in his shoulder.
“I believe the two years off has only added longevity to my career,” Tszyu said. “I am smarter than I was. The time off gave me a lot of time to think. I know how to fight, and I studied and worked very hard for this. It was two years in the making.” Tszyu had held the unified 140-pound title after a victory over James Leija in January 2003 before the injuries idled him.
His inactivity cost him the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council versions of the title. With the victory Tszyu put himself in line for a series of lucrative fights.
WBA champion Vivian Harris attended the fight. “Definitely I’m interested in fighting Kostya Tszyu. “He’s a great champion. He fought a great fight tonight.”
