Late last night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada Juan Manuel Marquez successfully defended his WBA and WBO lightweight belts with a thrilling 9th round stoppage over brave but outmatched Michael Katsidis. It was another marvelous victory for Marquez but one that didn?t come without its share of rough moments.
The early rounds saw Marquez pick off his younger foe with piercing blows but Katsidis was tireless in his pursuit and kept charging. The momentum in the fight would swing dramatically when the Australian challenger unleashed a viscous left hook that had Marquez tasting canvas. The Mexico City fighter rose valiantly and appeared to be dazed yet still found a way to survive the round off of sheer instinct.
<--- Slideshow: Images of Marquez-Katsidis, one of the best fights of the year
From that point forward a firefight would ensue as the contest boiled down to Marquez? punishing sharp shooting against Katsidis? clubbing power and brute strength on the inside.
The middle rounds were full of frantic action as Marquez fully regrouped and began giving better than he got. Still, Katsidis attempted to pin his 37-year old foe to the ropes and had success cracking him with power shots to the crowd?s delight. The action was intense but slowly you could see Marquez figuring Michael out.
Katsidis began to noticeably slow in the 8th round as Marquez?s work rate increased. He had tremendous success landing accurate blows to the body and by the ninth round Katsidis was in retreat mode. Marquez began to land at will and referee Kenny Bayless jumped in to end the fight at two minutes and 14 seconds of the round.
With the victory Marquez raises his record to 52-5-1 with 38 knockouts as the attention immediately turned to his future in the sport.
In the post fight press conference there was much to talk about and Marquez immediately mentioned that he would love nothing more than a third fight with Manny Pacquiao, whom he fought to a draw in May of 2004 and lost a disputed decision to roughly four years later.
?I want the third fight,? Marquez told the media. ?I feel like I won the first fight and the second one as well. I want the third fight.?
As the presser rolled on Marquez seemed to shrug at facing such worthy candidates as come backing Erik Morales and two division champion Robert Guerrero, as his mind is set solely on his foil from the Philippines.
As much as Marquez deserves a third fight with Pacquiao it doesn?t figure to pan out anytime soon, as Pacquiao now appears to most comfortable at 147 pounds while Marquez is campaigning two divisions south. He may not get the bout he desires most but if he is willing to accept other avenues he could still finish his career in grand fashion, as he showed tonight that he still has all the intangibles to greatness.
Earlier in the night I spoke with Sampson Lewkowicz, manager of Sergio Martinez. I asked him what he thought about either Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather facing Martinez. To hear what Lewkowicz had to say please check out Lewkowicz hoping for Mayweather
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at [email protected]
