After almost two years of "inactivity", the reigning junior welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu makes his return to the ring to fight a long-awaited rematch with Sharmba Mitchell on Novenber 5th.

I say "inactivity" because in a recent KO magazine interview, the Australia-based Russian is quick to point out that, "I was out of the ring for almost two years, but you can count on your hand the number of days I was out of the gym."

Tszyu's last fight was in January 2003, when he stopped Jesse James Leija in the sixth round in front of a sell-out partisan crowd in Melbourne, before being sidelined with an injury to his Achille's heel. Mitchell, on the other hand, has fought five times since Tszyu's injury, the last bout being a decision victory over tough Lovemore N'dou, also based out of Australia.

The irony of Tszyu-Mitchell II is that the reason for the rematch is Mitchell claims a knee injury early on in the first fight forced him to compete at less than 100%. Tszyu went on to win on a 7th round TKO. Now that all the injuries are out of the way, the two will come together in New York this Saturday to settle what many perceive to be unfinished business.

But does Mitchel have what it takes to take out Tszyu? Sure, he's done everything right by fighting often and staying active, and he's a talented, quick, well-rounded boxer with a not too shabby record of 55-3 (31). And though both men are 35 and Tszyu looked a little easier to hit in his fight with Leija - Tszyu can hit hard. Really hard. As his 30-1 (24) record suggests, many of Tszyu's TKO victories have come when his opponent quit on his stool (including Leija, who said the Russian hit him so hard on the ear that he broke his eardrum, throwing off his equilibrium).

Mitchell will have to box the fight of his life to beat Tszyu, and Tszyu can end the fight at any time with a single right hand. Assuming both men show up in shape, the dynamic of the fight will have much to do with mental preparation, and this favours Tszyu. No matter how confident Mitchell appears, the fact that he already lost once to Tszyu - bum knee or not - has to weigh heavily on his mind. Tszyu, known for his steely resolve, is trying to make an emphatic comeback by beating Mitchell decisively, before looking for bigger fights.

In a month which also features Shane Mosley-Winky Wright II and Erik Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera III, Tszyu-Mitchell II isn't the most eagerly anticipated November matchup. But if Tszyu wins, a fight with Arturo Gatti or Floyd Mayweather might merit PPV status.

Look for Mitchell to frustrate Tszyu early and to be winning on the scorecards late before Tszyu starts landing the right hand with regularity and stops the D.C. native in the 10th round.

Prediction: Tszyu TKO 10.