Johnny Lewis: "After the ninth round I told Kostya that he had to win the last three. In the 10th he took a couple of big shots and I told him that if he got hit with any more that I would stop the fight rather than see him hurt. After the 11th I asked him again if he was OK and he said 'yes' but I told him I was stopping the fight because he was getting hit too much and he didn't respond..." read more ...

Showtime chief Jay Larkin on whether claims Ricky Hatton was pound-for-pound number one were wrong: "Nonsense! Kostya Tszyu was the undisputed light-welterweight champion of the world coming into this fight. He was stripped of the belts because of politics. He was regarded as the best by everyone in this room but now the number one is sitting right there”... read more ...

WBA super lightweight champion Vivian Harris took time out from his hectic training schedule to congratulate fellow 140lb champion Ricky "Hitman" Hatton on his big win over Kostya Tszyu. "What can I say? Ricky fought very well he kept the pressure on and showed he's a great fighter. I am fully focusing on my June 25th fight, but I definitely would love to fight Hatton in a unification bout... read more ...

A relentless Ricky Hatton (39-0, 29 KOs) won the IBF junior welterweight champion with an upset eleventh round TKO over Kostya Tszyu (31-2, 25 KOs) Saturday night at MEN Arena in Manchester, England. As he promised, Hatton was in Tszyu's face from the opening bell. Both fighters landed bombs in extreme close quarters early on amid lots of wrestling and clinching. Hatton continued to be the aggressor applying relentless pressure. Both fighters went down in the middle rounds from low blows. The shot that dropped Hatton was on the beltline, while the punch that felled Tszyu was very low. Hatton continued to bully and outwork Tszyu, while Tszyu's best blows... read more ...

Kostya Tszyu: "Does it concern me that I have boxed only three rounds in the past two and a half years? Ask Sharmba Mitchell. I am fresh. I have been in the gym. When you live a healthy life, do not drink or smoke, it does not matter if you are 35 or 25..." Ricky Hatton: "Have you ever seen a better (junior) welterweight than Tszyu, and perhaps (Julio Cesar) Chavez? Tszyu is a fighter of such a great caliber. If anyone can handle the atmosphere it is him. He beat Chavez even with all those screaming Mexicans..." read more ...

Kostya Tszyu: "Everyone can see he is open to the right hand and my brain is like a computer and I have planned for this and if you watch me concentrate when I fight I do not blink. I just watch and wait for the right moment and then press the button. The good thing about my career is that I always capitalise on my opportunities. So if Ricky throws lots of punches this is an advantage but also a disadvantage because it gives me an opportunity also to capitalise on a weakness, mistake or opportunity. This is going to be good for me..." read more ...

Ricky Hatton: "He is all about punching power and my game is about pressure and lots of punches, so I'll be swarming and subtle, staying cautious and using good defence. Tszyu is 35 and lots of boxers get better with age, but he doesn't like to fight at a high tempo and prefers to be precise. Age could be a factor - he has gone very few rounds in the last four years and that could tell. I'll wait for him to slow before I go through the gears..." read more ...

Tszyu has been training at 11am each day to ensure his body clock is tuned to the correct timings given the fight will occur at 2am in the UK. This is to suit the watching US TV audience who will see the fight live from Manchester via Showtime. Meanwhile in Australia Tszyu's long-time trainer Johnny Lewis feels his fighter is reaching a new level of fitness. He stated, "I have worked with Kostya for 13 years and he has never looked better." read more ...

Undisputed junior welterweight world champion Kostya Tszyu is planning to accurately target Ricky Hatton like a sniper when they clash on June 5 at the MEN Arena in Manchester. "I have studied lots of things about Ricky already. I am going to test wherever it is open," Tszyu told the Tszyu Crew during a live chat at his website www.KostyaTszyu.com on Friday night Sydney time. "I am going to be like a sniper..." read more ...

On Friday his sparring partner was the No.1 contender for the IBF world middleweight title, Sam "The King" Soliman. Normally the 12kg heavier Soliman would be told to pick on someone his own size, but Tszyu showed he could handle himself against someone three divisions above his weight. Still seven weeks shy of full fighting trim, Tszyu nevertheless cut an awesome figure as he skipped, shadow-boxed, thumped punching bags and waved greetings to his blonde wife Natasha... read more ...