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-Photo Credit: Hogan/GBP-
I have been eagerly waiting for
Michael Katsidis’ next bout for some time now and I’m going to
have to wait a little longer than most of you reading this
article as I will be on safari in the middle of Africa and at
least several hundred miles from the nearest venue showing the
bout. I will have to wait at least two weeks after the fight
before I can view it for myself. I am eager for this fight to
be over as I am sure Katsidis has the tools to beat the aging
Casamayor but I believe it will be a lot tougher than what
many people are expecting or predicting. The winner of this
bout should be in a position to fight newly crowned WBA, IBF &
WBO Lightweight Champion Nate Campbell who pulled off a Vince
Phillips veteran styled victory over Juan Diaz.
I believe Katsidis should beat
Casamayor easily as he is younger, fitter, stronger, faster
and hungrier than Joel Casamayor. I have read many comments
from various boxing journalists and fight fans alike who think
Kats is just a mindless brawler; I have to laugh at this
assessment as I saw similar comments from the same people
about Kostya Tszyu before he beat Miguel Angel Gonzalez,
Sharmba Mitchell & Zab Judah. If Casamayor can dig up some of
the form he showed in beating the late Diego Corrales (in the
1st and best bout) Casamayor may have a chance of
out boxing Katsidis. I say may have a chance because Kats has
a much higher work rate than Corrales did and applies more
pressure constantly. I see Katsidis stalking a back pedaling
Casamayor and landing a series of power punches the former
Cuban amateur superstar won't expect will be thrown so
quickly, accurately and powerfully. It wouldn’t surprise me if
Casamayor gets knocked down early in the fight. If this
happens I will be expecting Casamayor to work out pretty
quickly that he is outmatched in speed, power, work rate and
also from a physical strength perspective and when this
happens Casamayor will try and run and use his superior boxing
skills only to find out that Katsidis’ onslaught is fierce and
relentless. What I expect to come next from Casamayor is why I
am worried for Mike Katsidis facing such an experienced
veteran. I fully expect Joel Casamayor to pull out every dirty
trick in the book and more to survive and possibly beat
Michael Katsidis. It’s no secret that Kats was cut up badly in
his last fight with Czar Amonsot, I’m sure Casamayor is going
to try and re-open those cuts, it’s probably his best hope of
victory in this instance. Don’t be surprised if the going gets
tough for Casamayor and he resorts using head butts, elbows
and glove laces in an effort to cut Katsidis' eyes.
A lot of people may say that I
am not giving Casamayor the respect he deserves and that I
should look at what a veteran like Nate Campbell did against
Juan Diaz just recently. Well, it is a horses for courses
assessment. Juan Diaz, for all of his courage and recent high
profile victories, was there for the taking by the right
opponent. Had he fought Katsidis like he had planned, Diaz
would more than likely had been stopped. The fact of the
matter is that Juan Diaz has a very high work rate but he does
not have devastating power. Nate Campbell is vulnerable to
power punchers and basically knew that Diaz would not really
pose a threat to him from a power perspective, this is why he
came out from the very first second of the fight and stood toe
to toe Diaz. The fact that Campbell has had some disappointing
loses and came up short in previous title shots only fuelled
his hunger for victory. I don’t know whether Casamayor has the
same hunger, it appears to be more about the payday for him.
On the other hand Katsidis is VERY hungry to reach the top, he
has been avoided by all the marquee names until now. He has
had plenty of time (hopefully) for his cuts to heal and has
been training like a possessed
man for this fight. It is very hard for
me to see Michael Katsidis losing this bout other than on
cuts.
I realize this is a very biased
point of view I am illustrating, I can assure the readers that
my enthusiasm towards Katsidis is due to what he offers the
fight fans, which is extremely good value for their money. The
only time I have seen him run was in the last two rounds of
the Czar Amonsot bout and that was understandable consider the
cuts he had at the time, he certainly provided more than
enough entertainment value in the previous 10 rounds. On the
other hand, the more accomplished veteran Joel Casamayor, is
much more respected for his boxing skills and past ring
achievements. He has not done much to entertain the fans in
his last few fights, he tends to throw so few punches and
would rather move and run that punch. I know some of boxing's
purest fans love this type of fighting but the fact is the
majority don’t!
Katsidis is the future of this
division and Casamayor is the past. If you find yourself
doubting what I say then just try and visualize Katsidis
fighting the likes of any of the following opponents: Manny
Pacquiao, Nate Campbell, Juan Diaz, David Diaz or Amir Khan.
Does anyone really believe that Casamayor would fight a more
entertaining fight with any of these men?
03-14-2008
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