Tszyu Crushes Mitchell in Three

Kostya Tszyu, fighting for the first time in 22 months, looked as good as ever in destroying interim champ Shamba Mitchell in less than three rounds. Tszyu knocked Mitchell down four times before the ref finally stopped the fight at 2:48 of the third. Any concerns over not taking a tune-up bout after such a long layoff were obviously unwarranted. Tszyu, who was returning from both an achilles tendon injury and a ruptured tendon in his shoulder, can now select from a long list of attrative and lucrative opponents such as Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather, Vivian Harris, Arturo Gatti and Ricky Hatton.