Champions Kostya Tszyu and Sharmba Mitchell Square Off in Super Lightweight Title Unification Bout on Feb. 3, 2001, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING.

Sports Editors & Boxing Writers/Columnists

NEW YORK--(BW SportsWire)--Jan. 16, 2001

 WBC Super Lightweight Champion Kostya "The Thunder Down Under" Tszyu
                                  vs.
   WBA Super Lightweight Champion Sharmba "Little Big Man" Mitchell

                Saturday, Feb. 3, 2001, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
            From Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas

Two world champions with a combined record of 72-3-1 with 50 knockouts will square off in a much-anticipated super lightweight unification bout when World Boxing Council (WBC) titleholder Kostya Tszyu and his World Boxing Association (WBA) counterpart Sharmba Mitchell meet on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2001, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING.

The winner could face unbeaten International Boxing Federation (IBF) Junior Welterweight Champion Zab Judah later this year. SHOWTIME will televise the Tszyu-Mitchell 12-round match from Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The fight is promoted by Don King Productions in association with Millennium Events.

Tszyu (25-1-1, 21 KOs), of Sydney, Australia, by way of Serov, Russia, is coming off a sixth-round TKO over six-time world champion Julio Cesar Chavez on July 29, 2000, on SHOWTIME. The hard-hitting Tszyu, age 31, captured the WBC 140-pound title by knocking out Miguel Angel Gonzalez in the 10th round on Aug. 21, 1999, in Miami. The WBC title is the second world championship of Tszyu's eight-year career.

He also is a former International Boxing Federation (IBF) 140-pound titlist and considered by many to be the best boxer in the division. Tszyu has won seven consecutive bouts, all by knockout, including an eighth-round TKO over Ahmed Santos in his first WBC defense on Feb. 12, 2000, on SHOWTIME. Tszyu went 259-11 in the amateurs before turning pro on March 1, 1992.

Mitchell (47-2, 29 KOs), of Takoma Park, Md., has made four successful defenses of the WBA title he won on a 12-round decision over Khalid Rahilou on Oct. 10, 1998. The slick boxer-puncher is unbeaten since June 1994. In his last outing and first in 10 months, Mitchell retained his title by outpointing Felix Flores across 12 rounds on Sept. 16, 2000, on SHOWTIME.

Mitchell, age 30, also won 12-round decisions in his three defenses in 1999. He defeated Pedro Saiz in February, Reggie Green in April, and Elio Ortiz in November. Mitchell compiled an outstanding record in the amateurs, going 153-7. The southpaw turned pro on Sept. 23, 1988.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING's Steve Albert and former world champion Bobby Czyz will call the action from ringside, with Jim Gray serving as roving reporter. The executive producer of the SHOWTIME telecast is Jay Larkin, with Richard Gaughan producing and Bob Dunphy directing.