Russell Crowe has revealed he held Kostya Tszyu, backstage, as he pissed blood into a bucket for 20 minutes after the last fight of his storied career – while also heaping praise on the Hall of Famer’s boxing sons Tim and Nikita.
Making an appearance on the hugely popular Joe Rogan Podcast this week, Hollywood superstar Crowe opened up on his relationship with Australia’s No.1 fighting family, which included spruiking the siblings to some two million listeners.
The shock praise comes as both Tszyu brothers prepare to throw down in big fights over the next couple of months, starting with Nikita again defending his Australian super welterweight title in next Wednesday’s Sydney headliner against Koen Mazoudier.
Older brother Tim, meanwhile, is currently bunkered down in Las Vegas as he prepares to face undefeated IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, October 20 (Australian time).
That bout will be the older Tszyu sibling’s first since losing the WBO strap against towering US southpaw Sebastian Fundora in March.
That defeat, however, does itself come with an oversized asterisk given ‘The Soul Taker’ suffered a nasty head cut at the end of the second round – which then saw him fight on, oozing blood, and effectively blinded for 30 minutes, before eventually suffering a narrow, split decision loss.
Speaking during this week’s extensive podcast interview, both Crowe and Rogan described the Tszyu-Fundora bout as “crazy”, while the man famed for his roles in movies like Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind also praised Nikita by name.
Elsewhere, the pair also talked through footage of Kostya Tszyu’s famed 2001 KO of Zab Judah, and his “murderous” punching power,while also discussing the likes of Vasiliy Lomachenko, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather and Oscar de la Hoya.
Yet the biggest storyline was Crowe revealing he had been in Manchester, England on the night Kostya Tszyu was famously upset in his world title fight against Ricky Hatton – a bout that would eventually prove his farewell from the sport.
While Hatton was a huge betting underdog, the Brit produced the fight of his life through 11 rounds before, down on the scorecards, Tszyu failed to emerge from the corner, with his trainer Johnny Lewis throwing in the towel.
“I was at the Kostya Tszyu, Ricky Hatton fight,” Crowe started.
“I’ve got a mate who is a lawyer, he says ‘you have to be careful befriending boxers because there will be that night when it’s all over’.
Zerafa fumes after Tszyu laughs him off | 03:17
“It was in Manchester.
“And Hatton was jacked, man.
“His body was chiseled in a way I’d never seen it before.
“And from my perspective, it looked like he was laying in some shots under the belt.
“But, you know, an audience like that in Manchester, which was all about Ricky, they were all for him, (laughs) he didn’t have a lot of dissenting voices.
“But I was in the dressing room holding Kostya over a bucket while he pissed blood for about 20 minutes after the fight.
“That made me understand what the boxing world really is.”
To which, Rogan agreed, adding: “Everyone one of those, they take something away from the fighter.
“They will never be the same.”
Crowe: “I don’t think he (Kostya) fought again after that. He had that big, long storied career, multiple world championships and all the things he achieved and, you know, he knew that was the end of that for him.”
Rogan: “Well, good for him for recognizing that. That’s one of the hardest things, for fighters to recognize when it’s over because their entire identity is based on this one thing that they do. So who am I if I don’t do that thing?”
Rogan also branded Hatton “in his prime, a bad man, a mauler”.
The Tszyus were raised about two hours into the podcast, when Rogan asked Crowe if he had ever boxed himself.
Which is when the man famed for reprising the life of heavyweight champ James Braddock in Cinderella Man said that he had “a little bit”, explaining how during his teenage years, he had trained in Budokan karate, kung fu and then another martial arts form, Zen Do Kai.
From there, the conversation turned to the pair’s favourite boxers with Crowe starting: “I used to love watching Kostya Tszyu,” Crowe then started.
Rogan: “Oh, yeah, he was amazing.
Crowe: “Fantastic. And his sons, he’s got two boys who are both up and comers at the moment.
Rogan: “Yep.
Crowe: “Tim just lost for the first time, and Nikita …”
Rogan: “Yeah, I watched that (Tim Tszyu) fight.”
Crowe: “That was crazy.”
Rogan: “Yeah, crazy fight, crazy fight …”
Elsewhere, the podcaster also famed for his UFC commentary role recounted Kostya Tszyu as a “murderous puncher”.
Crowe: “He was fantastic, man. He knocked out Zab Judah one time …”
Rogan: “I remember that”.
Crowe: “Oh, my God. I’ve never seen that happen before.”
Rogan: “And that’s when Zab Judah. Was Zab Judah”.
Crowe: “He was the thing. Everyone was counting down, how many seconds is it going to take for him to end Kostya Tszyu’s life. And it simply didn’t happen.”
Rogan: “Well, he was so slick and elusive himself. And Kostya Tszyu just planted one on him. Planted a couple on him, but one big one that rocked him. (Laughs) And he had that little rat tail, that was his thing … and he was such a murderous puncher. Even if a guy was slick, you needed to just make one mistake.”
Ironically, Hatton’s famed win over Tszyu has been revived in recent days by Australian boxing bad boy Michael Zerafa.
Five months after being knocked out by WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara, Zerafa is now back and preparing to fight veteran Tommy Browne on the Nikita Tszyu undercard next Wednesday at Sydney’s ICC Theatre.
Zerafa has signed a three-fight deal with Australian boxing promoters No Limit and is convinced he will fight both Tszyu brothers sometime in 2025.
And the Melburnian is already doing his best to agitate for a showdown by once again declaring himself ‘Micky Hatton’ – just as he famously did when preparing to fight Tim Tszyu three years ago, although the bout never eventuated.
Russell Crowe tells wild Kostya Tszyu story on Joe Rogan podcast, Tim Tszyu, Nikita Tszyu – MASHAHER
Russell Crowe has revealed he held Kostya Tszyu, backstage, as he pissed blood into a bucket for 20 minutes after the last fight of his storied career – while also heaping praise on the Hall of Famer’s boxing sons Tim and Nikita.
Making an appearance on the hugely popular Joe Rogan Podcast this week, Hollywood superstar Crowe opened up on his relationship with Australia’s No.1 fighting family, which included spruiking the siblings to some two million listeners.
The shock praise comes as both Tszyu brothers prepare to throw down in big fights over the next couple of months, starting with Nikita again defending his Australian super welterweight title in next Wednesday’s Sydney headliner against Koen Mazoudier.
NIKITA TSZYU V MAZOUDIER | WED 28 AUG 7PM AEST | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
‘PRETTY SAD’: Tszyu’s brutal undercard smackdown for old foe after nasty sledge resurfaces
‘MICKY HATTON’: Boxing villain reopens ugly Tszyu wound with infamous sledge
‘I’d like to put Zerafa in the grave’ | 01:52
Older brother Tim, meanwhile, is currently bunkered down in Las Vegas as he prepares to face undefeated IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, October 20 (Australian time).
That bout will be the older Tszyu sibling’s first since losing the WBO strap against towering US southpaw Sebastian Fundora in March.
That defeat, however, does itself come with an oversized asterisk given ‘The Soul Taker’ suffered a nasty head cut at the end of the second round – which then saw him fight on, oozing blood, and effectively blinded for 30 minutes, before eventually suffering a narrow, split decision loss.
Speaking during this week’s extensive podcast interview, both Crowe and Rogan described the Tszyu-Fundora bout as “crazy”, while the man famed for his roles in movies like Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind also praised Nikita by name.
Elsewhere, the pair also talked through footage of Kostya Tszyu’s famed 2001 KO of Zab Judah, and his “murderous” punching power,while also discussing the likes of Vasiliy Lomachenko, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather and Oscar de la Hoya.
Yet the biggest storyline was Crowe revealing he had been in Manchester, England on the night Kostya Tszyu was famously upset in his world title fight against Ricky Hatton – a bout that would eventually prove his farewell from the sport.
While Hatton was a huge betting underdog, the Brit produced the fight of his life through 11 rounds before, down on the scorecards, Tszyu failed to emerge from the corner, with his trainer Johnny Lewis throwing in the towel.
“I was at the Kostya Tszyu, Ricky Hatton fight,” Crowe started.
“I’ve got a mate who is a lawyer, he says ‘you have to be careful befriending boxers because there will be that night when it’s all over’.
Zerafa fumes after Tszyu laughs him off | 03:17
“It was in Manchester.
“And Hatton was jacked, man.
“His body was chiseled in a way I’d never seen it before.
“And from my perspective, it looked like he was laying in some shots under the belt.
“But, you know, an audience like that in Manchester, which was all about Ricky, they were all for him, (laughs) he didn’t have a lot of dissenting voices.
“But I was in the dressing room holding Kostya over a bucket while he pissed blood for about 20 minutes after the fight.
“That made me understand what the boxing world really is.”
To which, Rogan agreed, adding: “Everyone one of those, they take something away from the fighter.
“They will never be the same.”
Crowe: “I don’t think he (Kostya) fought again after that. He had that big, long storied career, multiple world championships and all the things he achieved and, you know, he knew that was the end of that for him.”
Rogan: “Well, good for him for recognizing that. That’s one of the hardest things, for fighters to recognize when it’s over because their entire identity is based on this one thing that they do. So who am I if I don’t do that thing?”
Rogan also branded Hatton “in his prime, a bad man, a mauler”.
The Tszyus were raised about two hours into the podcast, when Rogan asked Crowe if he had ever boxed himself.
NIKITA TSZYU V MAZOUDIER | WED 28 AUG 7PM AEST | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
Zerafa relives ‘Mickey Hatton’ sledge | 00:59
Which is when the man famed for reprising the life of heavyweight champ James Braddock in Cinderella Man said that he had “a little bit”, explaining how during his teenage years, he had trained in Budokan karate, kung fu and then another martial arts form, Zen Do Kai.
From there, the conversation turned to the pair’s favourite boxers with Crowe starting: “I used to love watching Kostya Tszyu,” Crowe then started.
Rogan: “Oh, yeah, he was amazing.
Crowe: “Fantastic. And his sons, he’s got two boys who are both up and comers at the moment.
Rogan: “Yep.
Crowe: “Tim just lost for the first time, and Nikita …”
Rogan: “Yeah, I watched that (Tim Tszyu) fight.”
Crowe: “That was crazy.”
Rogan: “Yeah, crazy fight, crazy fight …”
Elsewhere, the podcaster also famed for his UFC commentary role recounted Kostya Tszyu as a “murderous puncher”.
Crowe: “He was fantastic, man. He knocked out Zab Judah one time …”
Rogan: “I remember that”.
Crowe: “Oh, my God. I’ve never seen that happen before.”
Rogan: “And that’s when Zab Judah. Was Zab Judah”.
Crowe: “He was the thing. Everyone was counting down, how many seconds is it going to take for him to end Kostya Tszyu’s life. And it simply didn’t happen.”
Rogan: “Well, he was so slick and elusive himself. And Kostya Tszyu just planted one on him. Planted a couple on him, but one big one that rocked him. (Laughs) And he had that little rat tail, that was his thing … and he was such a murderous puncher. Even if a guy was slick, you needed to just make one mistake.”
Ironically, Hatton’s famed win over Tszyu has been revived in recent days by Australian boxing bad boy Michael Zerafa.
Five months after being knocked out by WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara, Zerafa is now back and preparing to fight veteran Tommy Browne on the Nikita Tszyu undercard next Wednesday at Sydney’s ICC Theatre.
Zerafa has signed a three-fight deal with Australian boxing promoters No Limit and is convinced he will fight both Tszyu brothers sometime in 2025.
And the Melburnian is already doing his best to agitate for a showdown by once again declaring himself ‘Micky Hatton’ – just as he famously did when preparing to fight Tim Tszyu three years ago, although the bout never eventuated.
Source Agencies