In Kostya Tszyu, besides his obvious merits, you can feel the iron rod which distinguishes those who have achieved truly amazing things in their field from ordinary people with abilities.

What do you think helps a person and sportsmen the most – defeats or victories?

Defeats are a bad thing, of course. But if you draw the right conclusions from a defeat, then this is a step forward. My first trainer said: losses are not a defeat, but a chance to take another look at yourself. When you constantly, win, your feelings become dulled, whether you want this or not. At one time I thought that I could not lose, that it was simply impossible. I returned to earth after a defeat. I changed the way I looked at the world…

Is a loss a big shock to you?

Yes, it is. Morally and physically. I’m a winner in life. It’s hard for me to lose, and I don’t like to. But it’s impossible to win all the time. So you need to be able to lose and use your losses for your benefit, and analyze the reasons that you lost. There is a reason for everything that happens. You only need to understand it.

Are you interested in politics?

I keep track of politics, but try not to take an active part.

Have you been invited, as is the custom nowadays, to take part in the activity of any political parties?

I’m a member of United Russia. Many of my colleagues and friends also belong. What I do in my life – helping children – is suitable for any party…

It’s suitable for any, but not all of them do it…

Yes, so I am trying to get away from this. An active sportsman shouldn’t take part in politics.

Is there any politics as such in Australia?

Of course there is. There’s a battle between Liberal and Labor. I’ve never voted for the Labor party.

Like anyone from the Soviet Union…

They’re against the development of private business. But I don’t think you should get something by doing nothing. Everyone should have what they have earned.

Are you involved in business?

My business is based on the fact that I have a name and contacts. I connect the right people with the right people and get a small percentage for this.

That’s an excellent business!

Of course it is. There’s a major project underway at the moment for road construction in Russia. We helped an Australian company which was having trouble breaking into the Russian market to find the right people.

When you came to Russia, you were welcomed at the highest level. What impression did our president make on you?

A strong impression. Our first meeting was impromptu. And instead of the 10-15 minutes that was arranged officially, we spent two and a half hours.

What did you spend all this time doing?

We simply talked. Evidently, it was also important that I didn’t try to get any advantages for myself from this talk. This is something that is easy to tell.

Of course, most people try to see him with a certain goal. Is sport close to the president’s heart?

Yes, it is. And I think that I can help, and I will help. And not just with sport. I have many charity projects, projects for helping children…

What’s the difference between amateur and professional sport?

It’s the difference between university and school.

Are professional sportsmen intentionally stronger?

Not necessarily stronger. Professionals have a different attitude to what they do. I prefer professional boxing. To start with, you have more time to improvise in the ring.

At a certain moment, as I understand, you changed your views on training sportsmen.

I realized that there is no such a thing as limitation. You can perform miracles! A simple example is press-ups. I had the second record for press-ups in the team – 170 times. Now I do 270. Another record is skipping. I can go for two hours without stopping. Or 1,111 press-ups an hour. And do you know what the world record is?

What?

Ten thousand.

Come off it… without stopping?

Without stopping. It was set by a six-year-old child in China. Just think about it. You shouldn’t be afraid of yourself. This is what children need to be told.

Many sportsmen in the 1990s joined the criminal world. Why do you think this happened?

The boxers felt their power. This is how the country raised us. We had barely finished school. Then we were sent to universities or institutes to box there. There was no real study. We didn’t develop intellectually. And this not only concerns boxing. The same thing happened in all sports.

What are you most afraid of?

I’m not afraid for myself. Not at all. I want to give my children a good start in life. It’s harder for them than me. People have high expectations of them – they’re supposed to do everything better than the rest.  

You have three kids, don’t you, two boys and a girl? How old are they?

Yes, they are 13, 10 and 5. You understand, I can buy them everything. But I teach my children not to receive, but to earn. They don’t need to be indulged in any way. When the time comes I will give them and my grandchildren the opportunity to be well-off people. But they must earn their money on their own. They will have things like apartments and cars, they won’t start from nothing. But it’s very important that they study well. I say: kids, I have a big organization, and when you grow up I’ll give it to you. But you have to be intelligent and well prepared.

Do you think that your children will live in Australia?

I can’t say. My wife said that I have so much business in Russia, that if we have to, we’ll move there. She’s an intelligent woman. Although it’s easier for her there. She’s been there for 15 years. She doesn’t know life here, and it would be hard for her.

In Russia she would have to learn a lot of things which are only required in the rest of the world during wartime.

That’s why I say: is it worth it? What do you think, should we move here?

Should you? I don’t know. It’s not question of whether you should or shouldn’t. It shouldn’t come from your head. When the desire is stronger than you are, then you should move. You can do a lot in Russia. But you can never change everything.

You see, for five years now my wife and I have got up very early in the morning. At five o’clock. The sun is shining. I say, let’s go. And off we go. We go downstairs, get dressed and run down to the beach, it’s only 200 meters away. And we run along the beach. People run towards us, and we say hello to them. Everyone says hello to each other. There’s a billionaire running alongside a builder or an accountant. This is freedom… Where else can you find this?

What is the main difference between Australia and Russia?

The people’s mentality. Australians think differently and live differently. And there is no rudeness there. Almost none at all.

I wouldn’t have thought this would be a factor for a boxer…

I’ve spent a lot of time in the ring, and a peaceful life is very important for me. And this is one of the reasons that I stayed there. I was able to start the training process in a calm environment.

How can you explain that Australia is peaceful?

Criminals were exiled there originally… People who were out of favor with the English crown were exiled there. They were exiled, and they started to create a new life. From nothing. And they are still creating it.

What books do you read?

Recently I’ve been reading Robert Kiyosaki, do you know him? “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. How to live properly, how to earn money and increase it.

Do you need to become a world champion boxer?

Actually, boxers don’t earn all that much. Two to three percent of them have a decent amount of money. I was simply lucky, and became one of the ten highest paid boxers in the world. But it took me over 10 years to achieve this.

So it’s not worth boxing to earn a lot of money?

It depends what level you reach. The first contract I had in Australia was $100,000 a year. This seemed like a lot of money for 1992. But I didn’t know what taxes were…

A lot of people here still don’t know what taxes are…

In Australia the tax is 48%. When I got my first paycheck, I asked: what’s this? They said, taxes. What taxes, I said. I’m not going to pay them, are you kidding? Don’t pay them, they said. A bit later I got another paycheck – the same amount plus a fine. In short, it took me half a year to understand that I had to pay taxes. And I learned. And now I have a high profile, and everything has to be clean. So I have a whole bunch of lawyers, those bastards… Sorry, guys, but you’re such… And I can’t do without them.

One group of lawyers tangle things up so that another group of lawyers can untangle them.

When I lost my first case, I went to a lawyer and asked him what I was guilty of. He said: nothing, you’re guilty of being what you are and who you are. And that’s all.

What case was this?

My dog knocked someone over. It was a normal situation – it just ran past a guy and he fell over. And then he took me to court. The case went on for eight years.

Wow! Did the dog survive?

No, it died after two years.  

Was it a big dog?

It was a Rotweiler. I went to a lawyer and asked him what to do. He said, pay the guy 5,000. Are you crazy, I said. I went to the guy and said I wanted to pay him. He said, OK, 30,000. What’s your problem, I said. 5,000! He said no. Alright then, 10,000! But he said, no, 30,000! See you in court then, I said. Eight years went by… In the end, we paid him 50,000 and another 200,000 to the lawyers. If it had been a different situation, a different person, then nothing would have happened. So now all my property and all my dogs are now insured.

So if your dog knocks someone over, the insurance company pays?

Yes, the insurance company pays. Although the dog I have now is a Pekinese. It probably won’t knock anyone over… You’re probably thinking: “How do you live there” – right?

Why do you think that? Everywhere has its pluses and minuses. We live here, and try to find our own pluses…

Do you find them?  

It would be good to at least break even… But on the whole, we do.

That’s the right attitude.

Konstantin “Thunder from Down Under” Tszyu

Since 4 October 2001, the absolute world champion among professional boxers under 63.5 kg. Holder of the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association and the International Boxing Federation belts. Height – 170 cm. Weight – 63 kg. Attack distance – 172 cm. Manager – Vlad Varton. Trainer – Johnny Lewis. Has lived and worked in Sydney, Australia since 1992. Tszyu was born on 19 September 1969 in Serov, Sverdlovsk Oblast. He began boxing aged nine. In 1985-1987 he was the USSR junior champion, and the adult champion in 1989-1991. He won the European championships in 1989 and 1991, and the Good Will games in Seattle. In 1991 he won the world championship in Australia. In the amateur ring he has had 282 fights, and won 270 of them. In 1992, Tszyu turned professional and moved to Australia. He has had 34 fights in the professional ring, won 31 of them, with knockouts in 25 fights. He has lost two fights, and had one fight end in a draw. On 5 June 2005 in Manchester, after a refusal to fight in the 12th round, Tszyu lost to Rickey Hutton and lost one of his titles (IBF). The date of the return match has yet to be announced.