By Sean McDaniel: In the latest boxing news, talks are beginning for an exciting fight between WBO lightweight interim champion Michael Katsidis (27-2, 22 KO’s) and British and EBU lightweight champion John Murray (29-0, 17 KO’s). Katsidis, 29, destroyed Brit lightweight contender Kevin Mitchell in a 3rd round TKO on May 15th last month in Upton Park. Murray, 25, saw the fight and didn’t see anything from Katsidis that he felt that he couldn’t handle. In an article at the Manchestereveningnews, Katsidis’ manager Brendon Smith had this to say about a potential fight with John Murray:

“I was contacted by Murray’s promoter, Mick Hennessy, the day after the Mitchell fight. He reckons they could draw a 20,000 crowd in Manchester. Murray has called Michael out on several occasions, saying Katsidis has not beaten the best in the UK. That’s his opinion. Michael loves boxing in England because of the atmosphere and the passion of the fans. I’ve not had an offer put before me, but if the money is right we will travel to Manchester for the fight.”

Murray badly wants to make a name for himself and by fighting and beating world champion Katsidis, Murray would be proving that he belongs at the top. In his last fight, Murray stopped Gary Buckland in the 11th round on May 7th to capture the vacant European Boxing Union lightweight title. While Murray looked good on offense, his defense was rather porous as he was frequently hit by a fighter that he should have been able to walk through without any problems.

It’s hard to imagine seeing a fighter like Buckland being able to last long against a slugger like Katsidis. Obviously, Murray’s defense will continue to be a problem for him in the future and something he will need to fix if he wants to beat a well known talented fighter like Katsidis. Perhaps even more of an obstacle in Murray beating Katsidis is Murray’s lack of hand speed and power.

Murray looks quite slow of hand and his power isn’t that great either. That would be a huge liability against a fast, powerful slugger like Katsidis. Murray wouldn’t have the hand speed to match up with Katsidis’ fast shots and he would also be lacking in the power department. Additionally, Murray likes to fight on the inside much of the time, which is where Katsidis likes to fight.

I think this could go really badly for Murray. He would certainly have a huge British crowd on his side if the fight takes place at the M.E.N Arena in Manchester, but the 20,000 fans that show up to cheer him on wouldn’t be in the ring to make up for Murray’s glaring liabilities. I can see Murray taking a real beating from Katsidis.

Murray had this to say about a Katsidis bout: “I just want my chance. I know if I beat him then doors will open up for me. Amir Khan could have fought Katsidis, but fought Paulie Malignaggi instead. I think he’s fighting who he can to avoid the best, but I want to fight the best and be the best. There is no one I wouldn’t fight. The fact that my name is being mentioned shows that I’m going in the right direction. I’ve just got on with my job, winning titles. I’ve already proved. I’m the best in country and now I’m ready to make the step up.”

Murray’s name is being mentioned for a fight with Katsidis mainly because Amir Khan, like Murray said, opted not to fight Katsidis. Instead, Khan and his promotional team have selected 38-year-old Joel Casamayor to fight next. This leaves Katsidis without an opponent. Since he already destroyed the 2nd best fighter in the UK in the lower weight classes with his 3rd round destruction of Mitchell last month, there’s really no one else for Katsidis to fight other than Murray right now.