Undefeated Australian world champion Michael Katsidis has nothing but high regard for Filipino fighters, and this includes his July 21 challenger Czar Amonsot, the Boholano fighter who will attempt to wrest his interim WBA lightweight crown.
Katsidis battles the 21-year-old Amonsot in a 12-round scrap underneath the mammoth Bernard Hopkins-Winky Wright showdown dubbed 'Coming to Fight' at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
"I'm really looking forward to fighting Czar as they are very much respected as fighters," Katsidis told this writer in an interview yesterday. " I expect on the night Czar will be very tough and may the best man win," Katsidis added.
The 26-year-old champion from Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, who holds a fearsome record of 22 wins, 0 loss with 20 KO's, will be defending his title for the first time against Amonsot, who fights under the ALA Boxing Gym of Cebu.
The Tagbilaran City-raised Amonsot (18-2-1, 10 KO's), who is now training at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles after weeks of training at the ALA Gym, holds the WBO Asia Pacific regional title, and has assured that he will come into the fight in tremendous shape.
Katsidis, who has not revealed the location of his training camp which is also located in Los Angeles, says that his training follows the 'old school of training,' which involves a lot of manual labor work.
"I enjoyed having been able to associate myself with many Filipino people where I'm from in Australia and the pleasure of also being able to work in the gym as they are the hardest of fighters," added Katsidis.
Asked about his training, Katsidis said that camp has been going very well at the moment.
"Over time my training is something I have worked to perfection. One thing all this assures is that on the night of the fight I will be hardened and conditoned to work under the hardest of conditions as I believe that alot of the challenge happens in the mind," Katsidis said.
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