Katsidis climbs off canvas

Katsidis climbs off canvas

Cameron Leslie 25th November 2010

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Australian boxer Michael Katsidis will honour his late brother in this weekend's world-title fight.




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Who will win the weekend's lightweight world title bout?

• Michael Katsidis

NINE years ago Michael Katsidis set a goal to become the undisputed lightweight boxing champion of the world.
After representing Australia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Katsidis had decided to turn professional and a plan for his future was hatched. Not only would he win a lightweight world title, but he would be crowned the undisputed king of the division.
At about 1.30pm Sunday (AEST) he will have his date with destiny when he takes on a man who appears certain to wind up in boxing’s Hall of Fame, Mexican great Juan Manuel Marquez.
The pair will clash on boxing’s biggest stage, in front of 16,000 fans at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas. Millions more are expected to tune in around the world as Marquez puts his WBO and WBA world titles on the line.
To say Katsidis has hit some speed bumps on the road to this point is an understatement. Most notably was his assault conviction in 2002 that saw him spend eight months behind bars.
But even that pales in comparison when compared to the blow landed on Katsidis in the lead-up to his biggest bout. On October 19 his older brother, champion jockey Stathi Katsidis, was found dead in his Brisbane home. Just how he died is yet to be confirmed.
The news of his brother’s death was delivered to Katsidis while he in camp in Thailand as he prepared for his date with destiny. He immediately, and bravely, declared his intention to push ahead with preparations for the Marquez bout, remaining in Thailand and missing Stathi’s funeral.
“I have lost my closest friend, my inspiration in life, my one and only brother. This is something I could never imagine, but for some reason I feel his life is not a loss,” Katsidis said in a statement after his brother’s death.
“The fight will go on! I will do this for Stathi, my family and myself.”
To push on with the fight is an amazing show of inner-strength. Stathi and Michael Katsidis were as close as brothers could be. They spoke every day, no matter how much of the globe separated them. Michael was there kicking home every winner Stathi rode. Stathi felt every blow landed on his brother in the ring.
Understandably, Katsidis went immediately to ground. Under the guidance of trainer-manager Brendon Smith, the Toowoomba boxer has kept a low profile, emerging for the first time this week at a Las Vegas press conference.
Publicly, the Katsidis camp is refusing to speak of Stathi’s death. At this week’s press conference, they asked the media throng to respect Katsidis’ wishes and not question him about his brother.
“Without a doubt hurdles don’t come any bigger than this,” Brendon Smith told Finda from Las Vegas this week.
“We have a lot to deal with after the fight, but our focus has been on the fight and we’ve come here to win.
“The camp has been very quiet and we arrived in Las Vegas last Thursday, but we’ve stayed in a house out of the suburbs and away from everyone.”
Smith is less like a trainer-manager to Katsidis and more like family, It is obvious he has felt the loss of Stathi also. But his sole focus has been on ensuring his fighter is in the right frame of mind before he tackles one of the biggest challenges in boxing.
And the Katsidis camp is under no illusions about what lays in front of them in the shape of Marquez, a man who already has 51 professional wins to his name and has tasted defeat just five times, despite tangling with the world's best for the better part of two decades.

• Michael Katsidis boxing record
• Juan Manuel Marquez boxing record

“He is the current king of the lightweight division and there is no doubt about it,” Smith said.
“We have nothing but respect for Juan Manuel Marquez. He is a true fighter and a true gentleman inside and outside of the ring and we’re looking forward to the challenge as a trainer and as a fighter.
“But we’re not here to give him a cuddle. We’re here to win and win well and that’s what we’re focusing on.”
And Smith acknowledges, beating Marquez will be the culmination of nine years of hard work. Nine years of leaping every hurdle put in front of Katsidis.
“Before Michael made his professional debut in 2001 we set a goal to win a world title and then to go on and become the outright number one king of the lightweight division,” he said.
“Everything Michael has dreamed of comes down to this particular moment.
“We’ve had more hurdles than you can poke a stick at, but because of those hurdles, he’s more ready than most for this challenge and Marquez has one very dangerous man about to step into the ring against him.”
And if Katsidis can lift the title of lightweight king, there is no doubt he will be getting some help from above.
“Stathi is inside me! We will fight this fight together. I know this is what he wants,” Katsidis said.
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