Tim Tszyu v Jeff Horn: Kostya Tszyu opens up on biggest fight of his son’s career
Kostya Tszyu left Australia in 2011 when Tim was just 16. His hectic world in Russia has fuelled perceptions that he abandoned his son. The former world champion addresses those claims and more in this exclusive interview.
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Boxing legend Kostya Tszyu believes his son Tim can one day be a world champion and is formulating a game plan for him to knock out Jeff Horn in Australia’s fight of the year.
In a rare interview, Tszyu senior opened up to The Sunday Mail from Moscow, Russia, where he has lived for the past nine years.
Kostya spoke about his dreams for Tim Tszyu, addressed claims he had abandoned his son and is so determined for the 25-year-old to succeed in boxing he is working on a strategy to conquer Horn in Townsville on August 26.
Now 50, Kostya won the hearts of Australian sports fans with his rise to the apex of boxing, becoming a world champion after emigrating from the flint-hard Soviet town of Serov to settle in Sydney in 1992 aged 22.
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Horn has taunted Tim Tszyu by suggesting he only secured their super welterweight clash because of his father’s surname, but with famous bloodlines come benefits.
Kostya has studied Horn and his 13 years of pugilistic greatness will be crystallised into a fight plan he will issue Tim, who can clinch his 16th straight victory by beating ‘The Hornet’ with the help of his Soviet secret weapon.
“I have my thoughts on this fight and I will be giving Tim a plan on how to beat Jeff Horn,” said Kostya, the ‘Thunder from Down Under’ who won 31 of 34 professional fights.
“I would love to be there to support Tim, but unfortunately because of this coronavirus pandemic I cannot travel to Australia.
“But Tim has me in his corner. I will soon be planning my strategy on how Tim beats Jeff. Then it’s up to Tim to go and follow his instincts.
“Jeff is a very typical Australian fighter. He has big balls. He has got a great desire to fight and fight and he comes up with exciting fights. I think Jeff is a brave fighter. It definitely won’t be an easy fight for Tim.
“This is certainly Tim’s toughest fight so far.”
The knockout ratios of the Tszyu clan are eerily similar. Kostya produced 25 knockouts for a KO ratio of 73.5 per cent. Tim has floored 11 opponents for a KO ratio of 73.3 per cent.
Tszyu believes Tim has inherited the power of the right hand that famously clobbered Zab Judah in a two-round demolition in 2001, but Kostya says brains, not brawn, is the key to defeating Horn.
“Tim has got good hands and some power, but I like his thinking brain and the way he can adapt if he needs to,” Kostya said.
“To beat Jeff, Tim needs to be smart. Every boxer makes mistakes in a fight and Tim has to capitalise on every mistake Jeff will do. At some stage, Jeff will make a mistake.
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“Tim’s strength is his ability to think and the way he can change tactics during the fight. He is not a one-dimensional fighter. He can box or he can brawl if he needs to, but most importantly he has the brains.
“I think Tim can outsmart Jeff, that will be the key.”
Surname aside, Tim can thank his old man for his work ethic. To this day, Kostya is a fanatical trainer. He works out every morning and constantly tries to set new personal records with an abdominal strength routine.
It involves lying down and holding his feet just above the ground to put pressure on his stomach core. Tszyu boasts his record is a staggering one hour and 45 minutes. But the champion fighter in him is never satisfied.
“My aim is to do two hours. Try it at home,” he says with a laugh.
“I promised myself about 20 years ago that I would train every morning no matter what. I do my first training session every morning to deserve my dinner. That’s how I stay fit.
“I live a very simple life these days. I haven’t had alcohol for three years. I am 50 now, c’mon, I don’t have time for hangovers in the morning with two young kids.
“I have to be alert, alive and ready for action. Young kids don’t allow you to relax too much, it’s tiring but great fun.”
After three kids with first wife Natasha, including Tim, Kostya became a dad again at 45. He now has two children, Aleksander and Viktoria, with his second wife Tatiana, a former model and PR executive.
He may be tiny at 170cm, but Konstantin Borisovich Tszyu is a gargantuan figure in Russia. He and Tatiana run a successful restaurant, Lodka, in Moscow and Tszyu has the ear of Russian heavy-hitters. He has been invited to the countryside home of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
In between training, family and celebrity requests, Kostya has built a business empire. He has manufactured worry beads and invested in a company that sells chocolate-coffee sweets.
Tszyu left Australia in 2011, when Tim was 16. His hectic world in Moscow has fuelled a perception Kostya walked away from his Australia-born children. They are 11,000km apart but Kostya says the tyranny of distance cannot break he and Tim.
“Me going to Russia has never broken any bond or any relationship with Tim,” Kostya said.
“I can’t say we chat every single day, but we are father and son. We are on the phone and on we communicate on WhatsApp. I love him.
“I am such a proud father and I will always be proud of Tim.
“We never really discussed if he wanted to be a boxer or not, he just made the decision when he was 13 or 14. He said funny things, he said, ‘Why do you put me on the soccer field, I am born to be a boxer’.
“Tim was in the gym nearly every day while I trained. From the time he started walking, he had gloves on. He started skipping when he was three. His gloves were bigger than his head.
“He knows the sacrifice of my journey. He saw the blood. The cuts. The blisters. He saw the pain of my career.”
But Kostya is cautious. He doesn’t want Tim to be crushed by his father’s reputation or expectations.
“Tim has done very well to step out of his father’s shadow,” Kostya said.
“It’s hard for Tim because of the anticipation from the people. There is expectation. Everyone will judge him much harder than a normal boxer because his father was a world champion.
“But Tim is his own man and he will go down his own road.
“All I ask is for Tim to be himself in how he communicates with the Australian people. I want him to be a personality and I think it’s important to love people. I tried to show Australians how much I loved the country and the people and I always tried to teach him that.
“I would be over the moon if Tim won this fight and one day became a world champion.
“I would love for Tim to create his own destiny ... and then he will enjoy his life with no regrets.”
Originally published as Tim Tszyu v Jeff Horn: Kostya Tszyu opens up on biggest fight of his son’s career