Kostya Tszyu: Australia's Pocket Hercules

Since the rise of numerous alphabet soup sanctioning bodies in the 1980s, the words "Undisputed World Champion" are rarely spoken of a fighter in modern times. The sheer financial and political hurdles to overcome make collecting all of the significant titles around one person nearly impossible. It helps to have substantial financial backing, such as was enjoyed by Mike Tyson or Roy Jones in their bids for undisputed championships. That makes the achievement of Kostya Tszyu, a lesser-known fighter fighting on a secondary network (Showtime and not HBO) all the more glorious. For four years, Tszyu reigned as the Undisputed Super Lightweight (140lbs) World Champion.

Born in September 1969 in Serov, Russia, Tszyu is of mixed Russian, Mongol, and Korean descent, explaining his curious semi-Asiatic features. The son of a metal worker and a nurse, Tszyu grew up in the shadow of the Ural Mountains. His Father decided he was too energetic (today we would call it "hyperactive"), and took him to a boxing gym where hopefully young Kostya could burn off his extra energy. He impressed his coaches, and quickly became a fixture in the Soviet Union's national amateur boxing circuit. As a Soviet teenager, Tszyu had no prospects of becoming a professional athlete in the Western sense, but instead was a "professional amateur" of the sort common in Communist Bloc countries. When he came of age, he was conscripted into the Red Army, but exempted from combat service because he was an elite athlete. As an amateur, Tszyu racked up a record of 259-11, and won titles as the Junior European Featherweight Champion (1986); won Gold at the European Championships(1989 and 1991); a Bronze and a Gold at the World Amateur Championships (1989 and 1991); a Gold at the 1990 Goodwill Games; and was on the Soviet Olympic Boxing team at Seoul, Korea in 1988. In his amateur career he met and defeated Terron Millet and Vernon Forrest, both future professional world champions.