Katsidis on the road to redemption
Heading into his March 2008 fight against Joel Casamayor, the stock was fairly high on Michael Katsidis. Then undefeated with a 23-0 mark, 20 by way of knockout, Katsidis had caught the attention of the boxing masses due to his aggressive nature and brawling ways. His fight against Casamayor was looked at as a serious step up in class and unfortunately for the Australian native the results were devastating in all the wrong ways.
Despite being well past his prime years, Casamayor's southpaw style, ring experience, and overall boxing savvy were more than enough to present a puzzle that left Katsidis dumbfounded early on. Just mere seconds into their clash at the Morongo Casino and Resort in Cabazon, California, Casamayor levelled the much younger Katsidis with a piercing left hand and it was obvious the fight was on. A follow up left hand would drop Katsidis again moments later and from that point forward there was a heavy sense of doubt regarding Katsidis and his abilities.
To his credit Katsidis would fight back gamely against Casamayor and even turn the tide of the fight halfway through, dropping the Cuban veteran in the sixth round. Still, throughout the contest Katsidis' overall inexperience on the big stage and lack of certain boxing fundamentals were very glaring and he wasn't performing like the fighter many had pegged him to be. The nail would be put in the coffin in the 10th round as yet another Casamayor left would drape Katsidis along the ropes for his third knockdown and the end was just moments away.
Katsidis was able to rise on shaky legs but he wouldn't last long, as Casamayor began firing away with referee Jon Schorle halting the contest moments later. Not only was his undefeated record gone but his standing as one the sport's rising forces was also in serious doubt.
While the Casamayor loss was obviously brutal in more ways than one, Katsidis again must be given credit for his actions, this time outside of the ring, as his choice as a comeback opponent would be the very formidable Juan ‘Baby Bull' Diaz less than six months later. With both fighters coming off of losses this bout was looked at as a make or break for both men and under the Houston, Texas lights Katsidis again seemed out of his element.
Starting early and often, Diaz took control of the contest and built up an early lead based off of his activity and somewhat patient aggressiveness. Diaz himself was coming off of a decision loss to Nate Campbell in which he was both outfought and out boxed, and against Katsidis he seemed to show a new wrinkle to his arsenal in terms of boxing basics. Despite coming on strong down the stretch Katsidis would end up losing a split decision to the ‘Baby Bull' and in just a mere six months his opinion in the eyes of many had severely plummeted. Against Casamayor and Diaz he was able to show tenacity and grit but not enough of the other desired essentials that go towards making up a true prize fighter.
In that time since Katsidis has won back to back fights against Angel Hugo Ramirez and former Champion Jesus Chavez but neither contest has been able to shake the rocky 2008 campaign that the ‘The Great' endured. Next up for Michael is a September 19th scuffle against Vicente Escobedo on the Mayweather-Marquez showdown and it goes without saying that this is an opportunity that he doesn't want to waist.
It seems like just yesterday that Escobedo was an undefeated prospect on Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy roster and he has seemed to overcome a 2006 split decision loss to Daniel Jimenez by producing twelve straight victories, with the last two being over former champions Carlos Hernandez and Kevin Kelley. The Woodland, California native should serve as a good barometer when gauging just how far Katsidis himself has grown from the Casamayor and Diaz defeats.
For Michael Katsidis this is more than just an appearance on a Las Vegas Pay Per View undercard. This is his chance to remind the boxing public of the fighter he is and the fighter who many from his native land believed he could be. While the hoopla regarding Mayweather and Marquez will most certainly dominate the night, underneath the bright lights Michael Katsidis will continue his fight towards redemption.