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.
Michael Katsidis
Katsidis Wants Bout With Pacquiao
By Eric Thomas: If Manny Pacquiao is looking for an easy stay busy fight while he figures out whom he wants to fight next – Floyd Mayweather, Juan Manuel Marquez, Miguel Cotto or Shane Mosley -, he need look no further than top lightweight contender Michael Katsidis that is very interested in fighting him. Apparently, Katsidis, 28, is traveling all the way to Manila, in the Philippines, to call out Pacquiao.
News – Hatton Farewell Fight vs. Katsidis?
By Jason Kim: The word is that recently defeated Ricky Hatton is considering a farewell bout against lightweight contender Michael Katsidis (25-2, 21 KOs) some time later this year in front of Hatton’s home audience in Manchester, England. Hatton, 30, was knocked cold by Filipino Manny Pacquiao last Saturday night on May 2nd at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Many people had predicted that Hatton would lose but few thought that Ricky would get knocked out so quickly by Pacquiao.
Khan Not Interested in Fighting Barrera Again
By Jim Dower: In news that doesn’t shock me one bit, British lightweight Amir Khan (20-1, 15 KOs) isn’t interested in fighting Marco Antonio Barrera (65-7, 43 KOs) again. This after beating the former super featherweight champion Barrera by a 5th round technical decision on March 14th, a fight in which Barrera was cut badly on the upper forehead in the 1st round. The fight was allowed to continue by the ringside doctor until the 5th, at which point it was stopped, giving Khan, 22, the victory.
Katsidis Stops Chavez
By Jim Dower: Lightweight knockout artist Michael Katsidis (25-2, 21 KOs) stopped the hard punching Jesus Chavez (44-5, 30 KOs) in the 7th round tonight at the Frank Erwin Center, in Austin, Texas. Katsidis used his power punching, steady pressure, and superior stamina to wear down the former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion Chavez. After the 7th round, Chavez opted not to come out for the 8th round.
Katsidis-Chavez, Valero-Pitalua & Escobedo-Hernandez Predictions
By Dave Lahr: Undefeated knockout artist Edwin Valero (24-0, 24 KOs) will be fighting 39-year-old Antonio Pitalua (46-3, 40 KOs) for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight title on Saturday night at the Frank Erwin Center, in Austin, Texas. Ranked number #1 in the division, Valero, 27, is hoping to impress as he’s making his first appearance in the United States in six years since 2003.
Katsidis Defeats Ramirez
By Jim Dower: After a poor 2008 in which he lost twice, lightweight contender Michael Katsidis (24-2, 20 KOs) got back in the winning ways on Saturday night, defeating Spaniard Angel Hugo Ramirez (19-5-2, 8 KOs) by a 10-round unanimous decision at the Cebu Coliseum, in Cebu City, Philippines. The final judges’ scores were 98-87, 96-89 and 96-89.
Diaz Easily Defeats Katsidis — Boxing News
By Manuel Perez: Showing no ill effects of his previous loss a fight earlier, talented lightweight contender Juan Diaz (34-1, 17 KOs) defeated Australian Michael Katsidis (32-2, 20 KOs) by a 12-round split decision on Saturday night at the Toyota Center, in Houston, Texas. The final judges’ scores were 115-113, 116-112 for Diaz and 11I-115 for Katsidis. I’m not exactly sure what fight the third judge was watching because it seemed like a clear cut win for Diaz, who dominated almost the entire fight other than a couple of rounds. I had Diaz winning 10 rounds to 2 for Katsidis. It was a case of having too much speed, a better work rate and much better overall talent that the slower Katsidis.
The outcome might have been different, however, if Katsidis hadn’t focused so much on trying to box with Diaz. Believe me, Katsidis looked much different from his previous fights. Instead of trying to slug it out with Diaz, which me might have had a chance at succeeding at given Katsidis’s enormous punching power, he tried to use head movement, feints and bob and weave style to box with Diaz. It was useless. Katsidis wasn’t suited for this style of fighting and all it did was take away his best weapon – his power – and turn him into a glorified sparring partner. Along the way, of course, Katsidis took a terrible beating, sustaining nasty cuts over both eyes and a big purple bruise under his left eye.
Diaz vs. Katsidis On Saturday Night
By Manuel Perez: Previously unbeaten lightweights Juan Diaz (33-1, 17 KOs) and knockout artist Michael Katsidis (23-1, 20 KOs) meet up in a do or die bout this Saturday night at the Toyota Center, in Houston, Texas. The bout matches to vastly different fighters against one another, with Katsidis, 28, a slugger with tremendous power and a defense which is pretty much nonexistent, and Diaz, 24, a high volume puncher with average power that normally relies on his nonstop punching ability and superb stamina to win his fights.
Of the two, Katsidis is the less skilled fighter by far, and the most vulnerable, having been hurt badly in wars with Czar Amonsot and Graham Earl in 2007. In both fights, Katsidis was hurt and came close to losing both of them. His tremendous punching power, however, saved him on both occasions letting him stay in the fight against Amonsot despite receiving terrible cuts around both eyes and then bailing him out against Early by allowing him to stop him in the 5th round. Katsidis luck finally ran out in his last fight against Joel Casamayor, who stopped him in the 10th round in March.
Diaz, Katsidis & Pacquiao In The Cards For Hatton?
By Nate Anderson: Whether he likes it or not, Ricky Hatton (44-1, 31 KOs) may have to earn his rematch the hard way by beating a trio of smaller fighters, such as lightweights Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis, and super featherweight Manny Pacquiao, before he can make himself relevant for another fight with the great Floyd Mayweather Jr. Hatton, 29, has done little to warrant a rematch with Mayweather at this point. His last fight, a disappointing points win over veteran Mexican fighter Juan Lazcano, was a mixed bag where Hatton looked good at time, almost seeming to be back to his 2005 form, but then later in the fight Hatton began to get nailed with many of the same punches (short left hooks) that he was hurt with against Mayweather.
Indeed, the most worrisome part of all, however, was that Hatton was hurt badly twice by the relative light-hitting Lazcano, and if not for the assistance from the referee in the 10th round, Hatton may have been knocked out in the fight. To be sure, it wasn’t something that was missed by neither Mayweather nor Hatton’s promoters, Golden Boy, who will likely want him to take on several top fighters in order to rebuild his status as a near invincible punching machine.