By Dave Lahr: In a fight between talented but deeply flawed lightweight contenders, Michael Katsidis (25-2, 21 KO’s) will fight Vicente Escobedo (21-1, 13 KO’s) for the interim WBO lightweight title on the undercard of the Juan Manuel Marquez bout vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. on September 19th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Katsidis, 28, is ranked number #1 in the WBO, #12 International Boxing Federation and #14 in the WBC.

Despite the high ranking in the WBO, Katsidis hasn’t looked good in quite some time dating back to his fight against Czar Amonsot two years ago. Katsidis took an enormous amount of punishment in that fight and was cut badly around both eyes.

After Katsidis’ face finally healed up, Katsidis, now a popular fighter based on his exciting fight with Amonsot, lost his next two fights against Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz in 2008. Katsidis looked good at times in both fights but didn’t have the talent to beat either of these fighters.

Since that time, Katsidis has taken it easy, beating Angel Hugo Ramirez and Jesus Chavez. Katsidis looked poor in both of the fights and nothing like his fight against Amonsot. Indeed, Katsidis was even staggered by the unknown Ramirez in their fight.

Escobedo, 27, a 2004 Olympian for the U.S., has looked good for the most part during his pro career. However, he’s looked very beatable much of the time and not like a championship caliber fighter. What Escobedo has going for him right now is that the lightweight division is weak at this point with Nate Campbell moving up in weight, which gives Escobedo a chance to become a factor in the division. I give Escobedo zero chance of beating WBO champion Juan Manuel Marquez, but given Escobedo’s age, he’ll eventually get a shot at winning a title once Marquez retires or moves up.

Escobedo was defeated by Daniel Jimenez in an 8 round decision loss three years ago in 2006. Jimenez easily dominated Escobedo in a fight that was never close. Escobedo is pretty much the same fighter he was then, only he’s faced lesser fighters than Jimenez.

Earlier this year, Escobedo struggled to beat 38-year-old Carlos Hernandez by a 10-round decision. Escobedo took a lot of punishment in the fight but was able to scrape out the decision in the end. However, it was worrisome that Escobedo was forced to struggle against an old fighter like Hernandez.

Look for Escobedo to have enough to defeat Katsidis. It should be close and action packed for as long as it lasts, but in the end Escobedo should be able to pull this one out. Katsidis has little defense and has taken a great deal of punishment in the past two years. Escobedo, whose defense is poor, should be able to weather the early storm against Katsidis and either stop him on cuts or get the win by a decision.

It won’t be pretty, though. Katsidis is the much harder puncher and will test Escobedo’s chin early in the fight. Escobedo tends to blacken around the eyes against the weaker punchers that he’s faced. If Katsidis can land enough big shots, he may be able to close one of Escobedo’s eyes and get a stoppage that way.