Witter: I would've KO'd Kostya!

Jr welter contender Junior Witter, who defends his European title against mandatory contender Andreas Kotelnik at the Nottingham Arena on Saturday night, believes that he would have knocked out the Kostya Tszyu that fought Ricky Hatton last month. "Lets face it, Tszyu was a shadow of what he used to be," said Witter. "I don’t know if age caught up with him or if it was the fact that he had only boxed three rounds in two and a half years, but he definitely wasn’t right. I would have taken that Kostya Tszyu out inside five rounds with a conclusive KO, he wouldn’t have quit on his stool from exhaustion."

Witter also says people are getting very carried away with Hatton’s achievement.

"On paper, it was a good win in respect of Kostya Tszyu’s name, but the man who stood in front of Hatton wasn’t the one who made that name. There was nothing in Hatton’s performance that made me think he was any better than I already believed he was....I reckon I would definitely get Hatton out of there before the championship stretch. He wouldn’t stand up to my power."