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

Marquez-Katsidis could be a holiday classic Story by

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It’s unusual for a major fight to fall on a Thanksgiving weekend, but in the case of Juan Manuel Marquez (51-5-1, 37 KOs) and Michael Katsidis (27-2, 22 KOs), Saturday’s clash could serve as the perfect after Thanksgiving dinner treat – and you won’t have to pay anything for it.
When Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsidis clash at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on November 27th on HBO for Marquez’ WBA and WBO lightweight titles, many are anticipating what could be a potential fight of the year candidate. Katsidis’ all out action style and Marquez boxing brilliance should set off fireworks in the ring. It’s a fight that could be a huge momentum builder for two fighters seeking bigger fights in 2011. For Marquez, the ever looming opportunity to face Manny Pacquiao for a third time is always the golden carrot. As for Katsidis, since dropping back to back fights to Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz, the Aussie has reeled off four victories in a row and is out to prove that he is able to defeat boxing’s elite.

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It’s a fight that almost didn’t happen however.
Last month, Katsidis was dealt a crushing blow when he learned that his brother Stathi was found dead in his home in Brisbane. Katsidis could have pulled out of the bout, but felt that his brother would have wanted him to move forward with the biggest fight of his life.
“It was one tough camp and a lot of people know that there has been a fair bit of speculation (if I would fight) after my brother’s death,” Katsidis told the media at a press conference following his arrival. “It was tough and as everyone knows, nothing is ever easy. We’ve endured to some tough times and we’re here to win.”
Katsidis’ trainer Brendan Smith echoed his fighter’s sentiments and was quite definitive when explaining what the goal on Saturday night was going to be come Saturday night.

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“The goal was to become the super champion and outright king of the lightweight division. On Saturday we get that opportunity,” Smith stated. “We’re here to win and win only.”
Already a lock for the hall of fame, Juan Manuel Marquez faces a stiff test on Saturday night. Although Katsidis has lost to two fighters that Marquez has toppled (Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz), “Dinamita” certainly can’t look past his opponent who is fighting for more than just a world title.
“First of all, I really applaud Michael Katsidis character for his bravery in fighting after the death of his brother. I have the greatest respect for him and wish the best for his family,” Marquez said at the podium. “Everyone knows Katsidis is a strong fighter and a warrior. However, I have prepared myself hard for this type of fighter. I don’t have to say any more. I’m ready to give a great fight to all of the people.”
Marquez Vs Katsidis takes place live on HBO starting at 9:45pm EST/6:45pm PST.



WAR KATSIDIS!!!!

 

Marquez-Katsidis: Thiller? Mismatch? Both?

By Eric Raskin

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As you may have heard, styles make fights. But there’s a little-known companion clause: Miles break fights. As in, if the fighters are miles apart in ability, it can break a fight wide open.

When you put two all-action fighters in the ring together, a thriller is virtually guaranteed, but such expectations are derailed if the two boxers aren’t on comparable levels when it comes to talent and skill.

Two Saturdays ago, we saw a perfect example of this when two of the most offense-minded, contact-oriented fighters in the sport, Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito, produced an entertaining mismatch. There was hardly a dull moment; there was also hardly a moment in which a Pacquiao victory was in doubt.

This coming Saturday, we might be looking at a continuation of the same theme. Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsidis are both among the most consistently exciting fighters in the sport, and there are some who think their RING lightweight championship clash at the MGM Grand has Fight of the Year potential. The potential snag comes if Marquez and Katsidis are not remotely evenly matched.

Marquez is as elite in the talent department as he is in the entertainment realm. If he were a movie star, he’d be Matt Damon, who can be an action hero but also has legitimate acting chops.

Katsidis, using the same analogy, is Vin Diesel.

Still, there are some expert observers who think the talent gulf isn’t so wide that it can’t be overcome and therefore have high expectations for Saturday’s showdown.

“To me, the fight is much closer than anyone else thinks,” said Hall of Fame trainer/manager and HBO analyst Emanuel Steward. “Marquez is technically maybe a little bit better, but I think that he’s really not a true lightweight. He’s a 130-pounder. And the wear and tear is an issue. Katsidis is maybe not as talented, but with the unbelievable fire and drive that he’s got, I think it’s going to be a very, very tough fight. Just like with his Australian countryman, Jeff Fenech, that burning drive and determination is a major factor that you can’t measure in terms of skill.”

In most sports books, the odds are set at a little less than 3-1 in Marquez’s favor, which suggests there is a clear-cut favorite but not to the point that it’s viewed as a mismatch. For comparative reference, on the same HBO telecast, Andre Berto is listed as up to 10-1 over Freddy Hernandez.

“We’ve seen upsets in fights where the odds were much wider, like when Vernon Forrest beat Shane Mosley as a 7-1 underdog and then Ricardo Mayorga knocked out Forrest as a 10-1 underdog,” said veteran boxing broadcaster Dave Bontempo, who was in Atlantic City this past weekend voicing the international feed of the Sergio Martinez-Paul Williams rematch. “Maybe Marquez has the edge, but I wouldn’t call it a mismatch. Katsidis, to me, always has a chance to make it extremely exciting. Ever since the Joel Casamayor fight, I’ve said to myself, This is a guy who, no matter what you do to him, he’s always in the fight. Could Katsidis stand to improve his defense? Sure. But then he wouldn’t be who he is.

“Add in the fact that maybe Marquez could get old, and I’m definitely intrigued by this fight.”

In a sense, Marquez has been getting old for about the last four years, ever since he lost controversially to Chris John and, to an extent, reinvented himself. In his youth, he was a counterpuncher who rarely made for sensational action fights. The last few years, he’s been more willing to take a punch in order to land one and has been in several Fight of the Year candidates as a result (including THE RING’s 2009 Fight of the Year, his ninth-round knockout win over Juan Diaz in their first meeting).

Katsidis is even more of a sure thing in terms of action and drama. He’s a spiritual descendent of Arturo Gatti — and like Gatti generally did, he’s come up short against championship-caliber opponents, losing to Casamayor and Diaz. Still, his brawl with Casamayor was spectacular. And come to think of it, Marquez’s fight with the Cuban veteran was pretty memorable too. When you have two fighters who can create thrillers against an awkward, dirty southpaw like Casamayor, you have serious scorcher potential.

Assuming, that is, that Katsidis isn’t the slow, predictable Margarito to Marquez’s Pacquiao.

We’ve seen other fights in recent years that paired two typically entertaining fighters but just weren’t competitive. Pacquiao’s second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton certainly fits that description. In happened in this year’s rematch between Marquez and Diaz also. Gatti’s fight with Oscar De La Hoya was a fast-paced beatdown. Gatti vs. Leonard Dorin looked like a can’t-miss, but it ended on a bodyshot before a two-way brawl could develop.

Erik Morales never made a bad fight and got hit so much that even his mismatches appeared somewhat competitive, and he produced at least three fights that could be billed as both entertaining and lopsided. Against Jesus Chavez, Carlos Hernandez and Wayne McCullough, the action was good but it remains hard to envision any of them defeating “El Terrible” in 100 tries.

Going back a bit farther, Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Greg Haugen was a fight in which both individuals usually entertained the fans but the outcome was a certainty before the opening bell. Possibly the best action fighter of his time, Matthew Saad Muhammad was on the wrong side of his prime by the time he met fellow slugger Dwight Muhammad Qawi in their rematch and the advantage belonged to Qawi for every second of the 5½ rounds that the fight lasted. (And for what it’s worth, their first fight wasn’t a whole lot less one-sided than the rematch.)

Frankly, the entire HBO tripleheader coming up this weekend has exciting-mismatch potential. Berto-Hernandez and Celestino Caballero-Jason Litzau are both fights where one man is a prohibitive favorite but the combat ought to be fun for as long as it lasts.

So what’s preferable from a fan’s perspective: Two warriors in an all-action mismatch or two evenly matched technical boxers in a close chess match?

“A fight where it’s lopsided going in does not excite me as much,” Bontempo opined. “I like the tactical back and forth, even if it’s slow, because each guy is always trying to do something. You can look at the fight and say ‘This is what this guy should be doing, and this is what the other guy should be doing,’ and then you wait and see if the chess match unfolds. You wait to see if one guy can take the momentum away. But it has to be two guys at a high level. Two guys at a low level, it won’t excite you very much.”

A perfect example would be the 1997 fight between De La Hoya and Pernell Whitaker. Some of the punches De La Hoya missed were actually more memorable than anything either boxer landed. But it kept viewers transfixed — at least on the first viewing — because the outcome appeared uncertain throughout.

Marquez-Katsidis is unlikely to be a chess match. The question is whether it’s going to be a competitive match.

“I love fighting,” Katsidis said recently. “Even better, I love winning. That’s exactly what I’m coming to do.”

We know Katsidis will give everything he has in an effort to live up to his words. If he’s lucky — actually, if we’re all lucky — Marquez will have slowed down just enough to give him a chance.

WAR KATSIDIS!!!!

 

I agree with that. Marquez is a slow starter and has shown some vulnerabilities in the early rounds when his opponents take the fight to him and thats what Kats needs to do put pressure on him from the start and try to catch him cold with something big and stop him before JMM finds his rhythm cause once he does that its pretty much over for Kats and he will be picked apart just like Diaz was in his first fight with Marquez.

This is a great clash of styles and has fight of the year written all over, cant wait to see these two mixing it up.

 

Can Michael Katsidis Topple Juan Manuel Marquez?

By David A. Avila
Because Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez has perched on the upper rung of the pound for pound list for years, most dismiss any notion that other than elite fighters the boxer known as “Dinamita” should have no problem with someone like Michael “The Great Katsidis.

They would be wrong.

Elite fighters and their subsequent reputations are built on years of work and trial through fire.

Marquez did so for two decades and now enjoys the fruits of those labors. But some say it’s Katsidis turn.

Katsidis (27-2, 22 KOs) will try to topple WBO and WBA lightweight world champion Marquez (51-5-1, 37 KOs) from his perch of greatness on Saturday Nov. 27, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The Aussie who now lives in Las Vegas has been waiting for this moment. HBO will televise the altercation.

Few boxers have been so willing to prove their technical prowess like Marquez. In September 2009 he eagerly agreed to fight Floyd Mayweather despite a size, reach, speed and power disadvantage.

“It’s my opportunity to show what I can do,” said Marquez, who though soundly beaten by Mayweather emerged with his reputation intact. “I love to prove I can fight the best.”

Marquez, 37, may be the best technical boxer on the planet who strategically dissects opponents like a modern-day General Pancho Villa might have pierced enemy encampments 100 years ago during the Mexican Revolution.

“He’s so smart in the ring,” said Sugar Shane Mosley. “His defense is great.”

All those tools will be necessary against Katsidis a warrior in his own right who never saw a brawl he didn’t like. Who can forget his fight against Joel Casamayor in 2008 when he knocked Casamayor out of the ring then was knocked out himself in the 10th round.

Katsidis, 30, lost his brother Stathi Katsidis, who was found dead. Regardless, the prizefighter decided to continue his quest for the undisputed lightweight world championship.

“The fight will go on! I will do this for Stathi, my family and myself,” stated Katsidis whose brother Stathi was a champion horse race jockey in Australia.

Few are surprised.

Six months ago Katsidis traveled to London, England to face undefeated Kevin Mitchell and was expected to lose. Instead the prizefighter of Greek heritage proceeded to bully and dominate the British fighter in a mere three rounds. It was another impressive showing.

Katsidis now faces his toughest opponent ever in the wizard of boxing Marquez. But maybe the time is right for the Aussie. The Mexican boxer has become more compelled to entertain boxing fans with a more aggressive style that leaves him open for massive counters.

Marquez is clearly one of the best fighters pound for pound but against Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Manny Pacquiao, the Mexican boxer has shown a willingness to dispense with a safety-first style. The fighter known as “Dinamita” has opened up offensively to look for knockouts rather than simply points victories. By opening up he is also leaving himself vulnerable to counter shots.

It’s something that Katsidis will be shooting for.




WAR KATSIDIS!!!

 

If that makes your black **** worshiper ass forget about your master Nallege being banned from this forum go right ahead and bump it i dont give a ****.