17.02.04 – By Kostya Tszyu: By now most of you will know that I ruptured a tendon in my left shoulder in training a few days before I was to travel to Moscow for my rematch with Sharmba Mitchell on February 7. Unfortunately injuries happen, but this is part of boxing. Only the strongest survive. I’m getting better every day. I have seen my doctor regularly and the advice from him was, ‘Don’t rush and be brave’.
I have tried to be very sensible, just relax and try to follow the routine that he has given me. While I am resting my shoulder, I have been finding ways to do some exercise which won’t hinder my progress. I have been doing some running and I have not put on too much weight. I am happy because I am exercising every day. My doctor is pleased with my progress but I must remember that this is an injury which needs time to heal. I cannot rush it.
I have always believed in looking at things positively no matter what happens to you in your career or in life. I was looking for the sign as to why this injury happened to me. Then on February 6 the day before the fight was meant to happen, there was a shocking terrorist attack on the Moscow subway. It saddens me to see such tragedies. Maybe someone in my team, one of my friends or relatives would have been there because I was in Moscow? I always believe that everything happens for a reason and there was a purpose behind my injury.
I have put the disappointment of being injured and missing the fight behind me. I have to move on. I have to do what I have to do to get 100% fit again. I will reassess my training routine. Maybe I was training too hard. The good news is that my left arm will be much stronger than it used to be. I had an injury to the same shoulder when I was an amateur and I know now that it had never healed properly. The surgery is a good thing for me and it will be dangerous for my future opponents. I know I am going to be hitting much harder!
I have been reading the comments from Sharmba Mitchell on the Internet and in the newspapers regarding the fight being called off and he was always going to say something. If I were him, I would be disappointed the same way. But I know that he knows in his own mind what’s going to happen when we do fight again.
The first goal for me now is to get my shoulder completely recovered and I can’t wait for this. I have no time frame for my recovery as yet and will see my doctor again this week. The IBF have set a deadline of November 7 for me to face Sharmba Mitchell and I don’t think this is going to be a problem. It is the right time for me. I will be ready before then, but as I said before, I don’t want to rush. I’m going to take my time and make sure that I am ready to fight and defend my undisputed champion title. Of course, I still want to fight in Moscow. It will be a great event. But we must now re-negotiate everything and it is not up to me. It is up to my promoter Vlad Warton, Sharmba’s promoter Gary Shaw and Showtime to reach a new agreement.
While being injured is never a good thing, to receive such wonderful support and understanding from you is very special. I have been reading your many e-mails and posts at my website Forum and they mean so much to me. I know there are many people who are disappointed in not seeing me in action and that makes me even more determined to get back into the ring again.
I also want to tell you all about a most exciting signed piece that my official memorabilia team (KT Authentics) and I, have just produced. After the sold out successes of ‘Winner Takes All’, ‘Destiny’ and ‘Undisputed’, we were looking to make a piece that all my fans could relate to. We have come up with ‘KOSTYA’, a painting that pictures me in serious expression, right after a tough training session. All of my world championship belts surround me and I am wearing my Ring Magazine Undisputed Champion Belt. The world famous sports artist Elana Bayley spent over 300 hours to produce the finished painting. I am very happy with the final result. There is a preview banner of the piece at my website www.kostyatszyu.com if you would like to see it.
There are two choices for you to purchase. The first is printed onto canvas, the same material the original was painted on. It is a limited edition of only 50 – the smallest edition size ever produced about me. This has never been done in Australia before and will sell out very quickly. The frame is an amazing thick gold frame – the kind you would see in an art gallery. The price for this amazing piece is $1,495.00, but you should move fast if you would like one.
The second choice is printed on high quality art paper and is signed by the artist and myself. It is an edition of 250 and includes two fantastic pencil sketches of me in action. It is presented in a beautiful hand made black frame with gold edges, to match your ‘Winner Takes All’ and ‘Destiny’ pieces. This one is selling very fast and is only $695.00.
Both pieces come with KT Authentics full colour hand numbered Certificate of Authenticity, with a photo of me signing. I am very excited that this will be the first painting of me available to my fans and hope you like it as much as I do. Contact my team at KT Authentics through my website or call them on (61 2) 8338 8755. They may even be able to do a great deal for both of these fantastic pieces.
I know many of you enjoy the Forum at my website and from this week we are going to be doing something special with the first of a series of “Live Forum Chats”. On Wednesday February 18, I will be in the Forum answering questions in a special thread between 6pm and 7pm Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time. For those of you not in Sydney, your local times are; Auckland – 8pm, Perth – 3pm, Moscow – 10am, London – 7am and Los Angeles – 11pm (Tuesday 17th Feb). If you can’t make it this time, we will be having other “Live Forum Chats” throughout the year.
Once again thank you for your support. When I return to the ring, I know I’ll be even better and much stronger.
Remember the Tszyu Crew rules always!
Your champion,
Kostya Tszyu, Undisputed Super Lightweight Champion of the World