21.09.04 – Kostya Tszyu: “It has been a long wait, but today I write to tell you that the date and venue for my return to the ring against Sharmba Mitchell have been set. The fight will be held on Saturday, November 6 at the state of the art 17,000-seat capacity Glendale Arena, in Phoenix, Arizona in the USA. Those of you in the USA will be able to watch on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing. It will also be screened live into Australia from 1:00pm on Sunday, November 7 AEST.
I’m back in full training. My mental belief is strong and I’m here to do my job. My shoulder is feeling great and there will be no excuses for me when it is time to fight. I have been very pleased with my training and over the next few weeks my sparring will see my timing perfect. Some people are calling this a rematch, but to me, it is unfinished business. Sharmba and I, we have to finish it this time.
I have a good team around me that allows me to focus only on my training. I would especially like to thank SHOWTIME, and in particular Jay Larkin, for their on-going support over the last year. It has been a difficult time for everyone, but SHOWTIME has stuck by me, and I plan to reward their commitment.
My team are organising a Tszyu Crew tour to Phoenix with a prefight stop-over in Las Vegas. We will have more information for you very soon, including the details about ticket sales at the Glendale Arena.
I will be holding a live web-chat in the Forum at www.KostyaTszyu.com next Monday September 27 at 6:00pm Sydney AEST. Local times in other areas around the world are,
Auckland – 8:00pm
Sydney AEST – 6:00pm
Adelaide – 5:30pm
Perth – 4:00pm
Moscow – 12:00pm
London – 9:00am
New York – 4:00am
Phoenix – 1:00am
Los Angeles – 1:00am
I always enjoy reading your great questions and I will try to answer as many as I can. A sincere thank you to all those people who have sent me e-mails and letters over the last two years. Your great support means so much to me and makes me even more determined to succeed in the ring.
I love to read the Forum at www.KostyaTszyu.com each day. We have many regular visitors who make some very interesting points as well as lots of boxing news.
While I turned 35 on Sunday, I still feel fresh and determined to fight at my best. My motivation for this fight is to simply put on a great winning performance.
Remember the Tszyu Crew rules always!
Your champion,
Kostya Tszyu
Undisputed Super Lightweight Champion of the World