***The Michael Katsidis Future World Lightweight Champion Express***

Class act right there.

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXybftXFxtg&feature=player_embedded[/ame]



WAR KATSIDIS !!!!!!

 

Katsidis Fights On


Mon 22-Nov-2010 07:36

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(Photo © Golden Boy Promotions)

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Late last week, I sent in a request to Monica Sears of Golden Boy Promotions to see if I could get a few minutes with Michael Katsidis, who faces future Hall-of-Famer Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBO lightweight crown this Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Katsidis, who I had gotten to know fairly well back in 2007 and 2008, as he lived in Marina Del Rey (where we once filmed an arduous workout session of his where I actually participated), now conducts his training camps in Thailand.

I was told Katsidis arrived to the States on Wednesday night. Sears told me through several emails that Michael wasn’t going to make himself available for any one-on-one sessions with reporters but, given our history, he would make an exception in this instance. However, there was one caveat- no questions regarding the death of his brother, Stathi, who was found dead of a suspected drug overdose in Brisbane, Australia in mid-October (CLICK HERE

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).

It was an understandable request, I felt. After all, public figures like Katsidis have their private lives discussed over and over in public settings. It’s the world we live in, where glass houses can be shattered in 140-character messages. It’s hard enough having to prepare for a daunting task like facing Marquez without any distractions; one could only imagine what that would be like with having to answer incessant questions about the death of a beloved brother. I would comply with this stipulation; I had a story to write and the fans wanted to hear from Katsidis. Now, how he will hold off the expected onslaught of questions from the cadre of reporters in Las Vegas, who knows?

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For a short spell, there were questions as to whether Katsidis would go through with his assignment on Thanksgiving weekend. But if you knew anything about this guy, who sees himself as a modern-day gladiator who fights just as much for pride as money, you knew he would absolutely fight on. That’s who he is; that’s what he does.

But to make it clear to the public, he released this statement last month:

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. My brother is me! We live our lives through each other. We dedicate our triumphs to one another and share the challenges we face in life. What does someone do when they lose the one person in their life like this? They are devastated right? Allow me to share with you Stathi’s thoughts and what he wants. If you can believe me, I feel you will all be somewhat enlightened to hear what I have say.

The fight will go on! I will do this for Stathi, my family and myself. The moment I walked in for a grueling sparing session after hearing the news of his death earlier that day, my trainer Brendon Smith shook my hand and said to me "you are about to take the bravest step of your life." We nodded, smiled and went to work. I worked as I have never done before. He is with me and will be all the way. I am happy about this.

I have never experienced anything like I felt that day. Stathi is inside me! We will fight this fight together. I know this is what he wants.
I would like to thank everyone for their well wishes and prayers for my brother, my family and myself. God bless.

Michael Katsidis

And like Forrest Gump, that’s about all he’ll say about that.

But I did ask Ms. Sears permission to ask this one question- was there any doubt he would go through with this fight?

"No, no, we’ve both known for a long time this fight was going to happen," said Katsidis on Friday afternoon, via cell-phone. "It’s been in the making for a long time. I think a lot of people wanted to see this fight, as well. But Marquez knew this was imminent following his loss to Mayweather and there was pressure on him to fight me. He said he couldn’t make lightweight at that state and he went ahead and fought Juan Diaz. But we both knew he was ordered to fight me and then we pushed the issue. And here we are, ready to have the fight."

Yeah, my question didn’t exactly relate to this fight being mandated by the WBO. But y’ know what? It’ll be about the only dancing he ever does. Katsidis is a straight-ahead, aggressive banger, no special effects. Marquez won’t need a GPS to find him but will he be built to order against the master counterpuncher?

"I’ll be keeping my cards close to my chest. I mean, I’m like that all the time but I won’t be giving away nothing as far as how I view him or how he views me and what I think about how he looks at this or looks at that. Because that’s all part of my game plan and all the rest of it," Katsidis explained. "Look, but one thing I will say, I don’t think I’ve got anything Marquez hasn’t seen before. He’s seen everything; he’s got all the tools of the trade. He’s an accomplished boxer in every means of the sport and I expect everything and then some on that night.

"That’s just black and white."

“Black and white” could be an apt description of Katsidis’ style; give no quarter; take no quarter. When he burst onto the scene a few years ago, Katsidis went on a Gatti-esque streak, where every one of his fights was a “Fight of the Year” candidate. But he swears it’s nothing that is necessarily a goal of his. "I don’t care about that; that’s got nothing to do with why or how my game comes out," he insisted. "It’s got nothing to do with it. That’s just what happens. I think that’s what makes all the exciting fights when I just throw it all on the line. So I don’t care about any of that, what makes a good fight or not. I just go out there to win."

Since Katsidis first came to America, he has suffered losses to the likes of Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz. They say that losses like these can be instructive and invaluable to young pugilists. Is that true or just a tired cliché?

Katsidis says, "No, no, no, that’s very much the case. I think from everyone with their experiences in life in general, you have a bad experience and in boxing, you have a loss and then you gain from these things. You can see from a lot of my fights, I’ve progressively become a better boxer. I’m more defensive, a bit of everything as the years have developed. I came onto the scene pretty quickly in ’97, ’98 with some wins there. I’ve been around a bit; I’ve progressively improved."

His résumé is dotted with notable names: Casamayor, Diaz, Graham Earl, Jesus Chavez, Vicente Escobedo and Kevin Mitchell. But there’s no doubt that he’ll be facing the most talented and skilled boxer he has ever come across in Marquez.

"No question about that whatsoever. He’s the best of the best. He’s the most accomplished fighter I’ve fought yet," he states without hesitation. When asked what a victory over the Mexico City native would mean, he says, "This is the pinnacle, this fight here, like you talk about the lightweight division being very hot for a long time and I’ve endured through all the great fighters that have come through. I’ve endured through the entire period while the lightweight division has been hot and here I am, on the 27th fighting for supremacy of the division. I mean, this is everything. I think if there’s anything I’m going to be remembered by, it would be this fight.

"Of course, I’ve had those losses,” Katsidis continued. “Marquez knocked out two guys that beat me. So there’s so much to gain and he’s a legend and he still is; he’s an accomplished legend. He’s as good as he’s ever been. He showed that in his last wins against Diaz, especially in 2009. So this means everything this fight. That goes without saying."

And no matter what has transpired in his professional or personal life, expect Michael Katsidis to be Michael Katsidis.

"Same as usual. The same Katsidis," he says with resolve. "Just throw it all on the line."

WAR KATSIDIS !!!