02.06.05 – By Kostya Tszyu: It is now just over 48 hours to my fight with Ricky Hatton at the MEN Arena and all of the physical work has been done. My mental preparation will continue now until fight time as I ensure that I will be at my best.
I am here in Manchester to show all my skills and that I am the best in my weight class. Ricky is a great challenger. I remember meeting him after my win over Zab Judah and we had a little conversation. The great thing about this fight is that there is respect. Respect from one to another. It is a pure boxing match. As an athlete, it is what I always encourage people to do. We have enough violence in the world that we don’t need to bring this into the sport. When we are in the ring there is just the two of us and we have to show who is the best. No one can help us and this is the excitement.
My fight can be seen live on television in approximately eighty countries around the world including…..
USA – Saturday June 4 at 9pm ET/PT on Showtime
UK – Saturday June 4 at 11pm on Sky Box Office.
Russia – Sunday June 5 at 5am (Moscow time) on Commercial channel NTV plus Sport
Australia – Sunday June 5 at 9am AEST on Main Event Pay-Per-View and at participating venues on Fox Sports Pub/Club Vision and Sky Channel
Please check your local guides for information on where to watch the fight live on television in other countries.
Our weigh-in will be held on Friday afternoon in Manchester. I am not here for a holiday and I am expecting a hard fight. I hope Ricky has trained hard and I want him to be at his very best. No excuses.
Remember the Tszyu Crew rules always!
Your champion,
Kostya Tszyu
Undisputed Super Lightweight Champion of the World
Kostya Tszyu: Four Days To Go
31.05.05 – By Kostya Tszyu: I have been in Manchester in the UK for over one week now and everything is great. The people here have been very friendly and my training is perfect. We had some rain here last week, but the last few days have been sunny and cool.
I am staying in a quieter country area outside of Manchester and there are no distractions for me. Just training, eating and sleeping. I have my team around me and everyone is feeling very positive about the fight with Ricky Hatton. I feel so great because I have not competed in Europe for so many years. I am so excited to be here and cannot wait to step in the ring and show all my skills to the great fans in England.
I have decided to maintain my normal training routine and not train at 2am. Right now, I am very comfortable for what I am doing and I have had lots of discussions with different advisers about it. One bit of advice I have got is if I am 100 percent ready and prepare really hard and am in good condition, I do not need to change anything really because when it comes to the day of the fight, you are going to be ready. If you train at 2am in the morning every single day, it is like a night shift, you are going to get tired eventually.
Many people make a point of my age for this fight, but it is not a concern to me. I am 35 and I am fresh. I am very confident because I am much better now at 35 than I was at 25. I could destroy the 25 year-old Kostya Tszyu right now with the 35 year-old Kostya Tszyu. That is how confident I am.
If you will not be at the sold out MEN Arena in Manchester this weekend, my fight can be seen live in the following countries.
USA – Saturday June 4 at 9pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME
UK – Saturday June 4 at 11pm on Sky Box Office.
Russia – Sunday June 5 at 5am (Moscow time) on channel NTV plus Sport
Australia – Sunday June 5 at 9am AEST on Main Event Pay-Per-View and at participating venues on Fox Sports Pub/Club Vision and Sky Channel
Please check your local guides for information on where to watch the fight live on television in other countries.
The support from you the Tszyu Crew continues to be tremendous and helps me prepare for this fight. While I am mentally preparing for my fight this week, I look forward to receiving your emails and messages from the Forum.
There will be some live web chats with people you know this week from my team and we have some new items in my on-line store. Keep checking back at www.KostyaTszyu.com each day as there will always be some new information on my fight with Ricky Hatton.
A reminder for those of you in Australia, my team has arranged a dinner for me on my return home after this fight. On Friday June 10, 2005 I will be at the Panthers World of Entertainment in Penrith, NSW. More details are available from my website and tickets can be purchased via email: oliver@helpinghand.com.au or by telephone: (61 2) 8338 8755.
The hours and minutes keep ticking away and the weekend will arrive quickly. It will be fight time very soon and I will be ready.
Remember the Tszyu Crew rules always!
Your champion,
Kostya Tszyu
Undisputed Super Lightweight Champion of the World