Ricky Burns - beating Martinez is clearly Rickys best win as he was a massive underdog. Martinez is the only world class fighter Ricky has fought but Ricky showed that he has the tools to fight at this high level. Katsidis will be the best name on Rickys record if he wins. Michael Katsidis - there is no doubt Katsidis has fought at the higher level BUT he has lost when he has fought the divisions best fighters (Marquez , Diaz , Guerrero and Cassamayor). Katsidis best win is either Jesus Chavez or Kevin Mitchell , Chavez had fought at a much higher level but had lost in 3 to julio Diaz 2 years earlier. Katsidis certainly got him on the slide although he would have still been a credible voluntary challenger for a world title. Mitchell was the favorite to beat Katsidis as he beat top 15 fighter in prescott quite easily , Katsidis destroyed him in 3. For me the Chavez win just shades it because of the level that the Mexican had fought at. conclusion - Katsidis has been very good vs guys who are skirting around world level , Burns has had the 1 fight at this level and came through with flying colours. Going on records it looks like Katsidis should win although we dont really know how good Burns is at this level because hes only had the fight vs Martinez , was that fight a 1 off?? Ive picked Burns to win because i think he is fresher , faster and is catching Katsidis at the right time. If the fight was 2-3 years ago i would have went with the Ozzie but vs Guerrero i feel that Katsidis had resgressed enough (especially the footwork for getting close) for Burns to win a very hard fight on points. Thoughts?
I think its pretty safe to say this would be a better win than Martinez. Martinez was completely unproven, don't let anyone say otherwise. Beating Nicky Cook and random guys in Puerto Rico really doesn't mean a lot in the grand scheme of things at title level. It was a good win, especially in the style he did it - it was a great fight. But here he's facing a guy thats actually mixed it with top class fighters and usually held his own and picked up a few decent scalps along the way.
On is the best name on either record (that they aint lost in) but he was defo on the slide and wasnt the same after the Leavander Johnson fight
I'd agree with that and I think that it was Kats high water mark....It was a very clear win for the Oz despite the daft SD but it actually highlighted his vulnerabilities....cuts and marks up badly, no plan B
Let's be fair Martinez wasn't that good. If he hadn't somehow held Frank's belt for a few weeks none of you would've heard of him.
beating martinez and katsidis in just over a year at 2 different weight proves that ricky burns is a genuine world class fighter
Great win tonight looked more comfortable at the weight. Also lets not forget katsidis has been in with world class fighters and also destroyed mitchell in 3. Great win and well done ricky
