TSZYU SIZZLES IN TKOING MITCHELL

Intense Kostya Tszyu, showing no side-effects of 22 months without a fight, devastated Sharmba Mitchell with his full arsenal to retain the WBC/ IBF junior welterweight titles on a third-round knockout Saturday night in the Glendale, Arz., arena.

Tszyu, 34, was incredibly awesome in proving the layoff, enforced by training injuries, did not impair his super skills, dropping Mitchell three times, starting in the second round of the 12-round bout televised by Showtime.

It was a rematch nearly three-years in the making where injuries to both rivals
forced two postponements. In the original, Feb.3, 2001, Tszyu won a seventh round TKO when Mitchell, 35, tore a ligament in his left knee and could not continue at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Mitchell, turning pro in1988 out of Takoma Park, Md., came in as Interim IBF ruler since Tszyu had a commission medical exemption because of his injuries.

The heavy-hyped action was hardly a minute old when the scenario was clear this engaging one-time´college student wouldn’t have an excuse to stand on.

Mitchell, a southpaw, was moving to his right and dipped down pawing with a right jab and repeatedly clinching. The Maryland marauder grabbed the champion around the waist no less than six times before they banged heads,

Tszyu coolly measured Mitchell and it wasn’t long before Kostya’s sobriquet as “The Thunder From Down Under” was most appropriate since he established a family home in Sydney, via Serov, Russia.

Tszyu’s timing and accuracy was never better like in the second round when he broke free of the challenger’s grasps three times to land right hands to the head, punching on an angle.

From here on in, Mitchell’s holding was futile. Like Tsyzu hitting Mitchell with a right and then stepping in with a right, left, left, right. The latter shot dropped the game but outclassed adversary on the seat of his trunks. Mitchell rose to be a catcher again but slips on the canvas at the bell.

The swarthy Mitchell’s face was beginning to swell, over and under both eyes. Tszyu lifted the fight’s tempo another octave and opened round three by scoring another knockdown with a solo right.

Tszyu now handled Mitchell like he invented him and drove him into the ropes with unanswered volleys. If boxing had such a thing as a ballerina, it would have been Tszyu on this night as he administered iron-hearted Mitchell’s most punishing defeat on a large resume now reading 55-4. 30 KOs.

The final six punches were epic.

The double champion hammered home a thunder right to the jaw and a wicked combination to the head and body. Mitchell’s face was a blank as he began to slip down the sweaty ropes. Two more pile-drivers and the exhausted Mitchell was in a sitting position. The referee stopped counting at “five.”

It was pandemonium at mid-ring in Glendale. Maybe half of Australia did come to Arizona to support their super hero who pound-for-pound is right at the top of his game.

In announcer Jimmy Lennon’s pre-fight introductions, the house seemed more partisan to Mitchell, the engaging local boy tying to make good one more time.

When Lennon made it official that the beaming Tszyu had retained his titles on a knockout at 2:18 of the third round, it sounded like U.S. Election Day all over again for the incumbent.

Tszyu always comes away from a victory with a smile from here to Melbourne, but this has to be the biggest. It should be since it arguably is Kostya’s biggest triumph on a record that now reads 31-1, 25 KOs.

In his post-fight recap with Showtime’s Jim Gray, Tszyu’s right cheek had a brownish hue like he had been in the sun too long. It wasn’t from Mitchell’s punches, he didn’t land that many.

Tszyu, who turned pro in 1992, has a 14-1-1 ledger in world fights. The only loss was a huge upset by Vincent Phillips on a TKO in 10 rounds May 31,1997 in Atlantic City.

“I felt it was a good performance there were some butts but it doesn’t matter. The difference in this fight with Mitchell than our first fight is I’m thinking a lot more and looking around a lot more. I studied Mitchell a lot more and I think I’ve. learned a lot more,” the pleased champion reflected.

“I’ll be going back home to Sydney to be with my family during the holidays. Some of the press asked me if Mitchell annoyed me with his remarks after
our first fight. Not really, this is a business and it’s nothing personal. Whatever really Sharmba says good or bad, he’s stuck with it regardless how this fight turned out. I was taking my time with Mitchell and I was real patient when I started throwing those rights to the head and body I had him leaning on the ropes.”

Mitchell, who attended Maryland and Howard Universities before going into boxing as a career, had no excuses for a disappointing effort.

Kostya caught me with a good punch and that can turn a lot of things around. Whenever I get knocked down, I usually get up. Anything can happen in boxing With Ali, it was all business and nothing personal. Tszyu is really a great champion. ’m not retiring, I don’t know who, but I’ll be ready to fight another day.”

Team Tszyu won’t be ready to talk about who he will fight next until after the
Yule holidays.

There is plenty of solid box office names in the mix for Tszyu like Arturo Gatti, Ricky Hatton, Vivian Harris, and Miguel Cotto.

“If I had to make up my mind right now, I’d like to fight Floyd Mayweather, and maybe Zab Judah. I guess my choice would be Mayweather because he’s better box office but he is also a little (bleep).”

(Jack Welsh is a syndicated columnist headquartered in Las Vegas and also a
regular contributor to several national sports publications.)