Kostya Tszyu and his team will leave Australia on the 24th of october to travel to Phoenix, Arizona, to climatize and finally finish business with awkward southpaw, Sharmba" the little big man" Mitchell.

In their first battle of February the 3rd, 2002 , Tszyu was deducted one point in the 4th round before Mitchell retired on his corner stool, with serious ligament damage to his knee in the seventh round. unable to continue, Tszyu won the fight and picked up Mitchells world title belt.

When I spoke with Sharmba Mitchell he told me he hasn't stopped thinking of that moment since, and he will win it back in style this time around. since losing to Tszyu, Mitchell has been one of the most active boxers around, fighting guys like Ben Tackie, Vince Philips, Michael Stewart, and more recently, Lovemore Ndou and Moses Pedroza. eight fights with eight wins, most coming by way of points victories. in that time he has fought his way back to the top and the No 1 contender position.

After defending his 2 titles against the hard as nails Oktay Urklal , Tszyu's team made a unification fight with Brooklyns Zab"Super" Judah. The fight with Judah was a total mismatch and Tszyu showed the tremendous power he has with one single punch that made Judah look like a small animal trying to walk for the first time. after blasting out Judah, he defended his titles against ghana's Ben Tackie in the USA, then Jesse James Leija in Melbourne, Australia and put in good solid performances on both occasions.

Meanwhile, mega fights with Arturo Gatti , Floyd Mayweather jnr, and a host of other big name fighters were on the table for Tszyu, but unfortunately, he sustained two unrelated injuries to his ankle and shoulder which forced the undisputed champion to stop and take note and heal and heal some more.
The good news for boxing fans around the world is he is back- back strong , and revitalized with a new passion and desire to win and fight the likes of Gatti, Mayweather, Hatton, Corrales, and Cotto.
I spent some time down at his gym in Sydney and watched him train, and also spoke to the men who have helped him prepare so well for the big fight in November.

I spoke with Tszyu's sparring partners,Australias middleweight champion, Sam Soliman, Chicago lightweight, David Diaz, and Florida lightweight, Ricky Quiles, and I asked them what they thought of their time in the ring with Tszyu. here is how they saw it.

GT: Ricky, tell me what you thought of Tszyu's sparring and how do you think he will go with Mitchell?

RQ: Tszyu's timing was a little off when we first sparred but as the weeks have gone by, he has totally improved, and he is so good at cutting the ring off. he makes me work hard. I think he will take Sharmba Mitchell out.

GT: Sammy, tell me what you thought of Tszyu this time around and how do you think the fight will go?

SS: The last time we sparred, I was going well and making kostya raise his work rate. this time when we spar, he seems to get stronger the longer we spar. he goes up the gears and I feel he will overwhelm Mitchell.

GT: As a lightweight, it is obvious that Tszyu has brought you across to help him with his speed, tell me what its been like sparring with the champ?

DD It has been a tremendous experience for me and it will definately help with my career. I considered myself to be a pressure type of fighter but Tszyu has made me work very hard and he put me under pressure like never before.

After seeing Kostya Tszyu training in the gym and looking into his eyes. I saw the hunger, I had not seen for a while and I only hope Sharmba Mitchell is thinking of their first meeting and training and sweating the demons of that fight away.