By William Mackay: The struggling Australian Michael Katsidis (27-3, 22 KO’s) and his manager/trainer Brendon Smith have made it no secret that they want to face World Boxing Association (WBA) light welterweight champion Amir Khan (24-1, 17 KO’s) next. On paper, it’s a huge mismatch, as Katsidis has lost three out of his last seven fights and has pretty much been smacked down every time he steps it up against a really good fighter. Katsidis won’t be much of a threat of denting Khan’s glass jaw compared to other fighters.

Katsidis does a great job against guys like Kevin Mitchell, Vincente Escobedo, Jesus Chavez and Angel Hugo Ramirez, but when he steps it up a notch and faces people like Juan Manuel Marquez, Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz, Katsidis ends up losing. Normally, I would say that Katsidis wouldn’t stand a chance at getting a high profile fight against Khan in April. However, this is a tune-up fight for Khan, and he’s going to be fighting in front of his home crowd in the UK.

Khan needs a recognizable opponent, but not someone so good that they’ll knock him out. This is where Katsidis comes in. He took a bad beating in his last fight, a 9th round TKO loss to Marquez on November 27th, and he’s likely not going to be 100% of what he was before the Marquez fight. In other words, Katsidis would be the perfect opponent for Khan. Katsidis is short, slow, has no right hand and moves in straight lines. It’s the perfect opponent for Khan to try and show off against. The other guy that’s being mentioned for Khan is Lamont Peterson, who hasn’t much power but is ranked high in the light welterweight division.

Khan could fight him, but the UK fans will likely not have heard of him and won’t be excited about this fight. Peterson is faster and taller than Katsidis and therefore much more dangerous. Peterson would have a chance to beat Khan, unlike Katsidis. For this reason, I see Khan selecting the little Katsidis to face in April for what should be an easy fight unless Katsidis connects with one of his left hooks. That won’t be easy to do because Khan is so much taller and will likely be running constantly while flicking out weak punches.