Whenever Michael Katsidis ducks through the ropes, you can be sure of two things. One, that he will try his hardest to win at all times, and, two, that you will be seeing a real prizefighter in action, one who fights wherever the money takes him, occasionally makes chalkeaters weep, and will swap punches, often with a grin, with just about anybody willing to sign a contract. Katsidis hits the road again when he faces Scotsman Ricky Burns tomorrow night for a scheduled 12 at Wembley Arena in London.
Now 31, Katsidis has been terrorizing rings for nearly a decade, but it looks like he is no longer at his destructive peak. A protracted beating at the hands of Robert Guerrero last April might have signaled the beginning of his decline. Brutal wars with Juan Manuel Marquez, Graham Earl, and Joel Casamayor over the years are also poor ingredients for longevity. In his last outing, a third-round KO of limited Michael Lozada in Queensland, Australia, a month ago, Katsidis looked a little more reckless than usual, although that might be due to the level of competition he was facing that night. Just how inept is Lozada? So inept that he was actually stopped by Paulie Malignaggi last year, giving the feather-fisted ?Magic Man? his first KO win in over seven years.
Still, Katsidis, 28-4 (23), remains as vicious as Tiberius in the ring, a pitiless brawler with spotty defense, a tendency to cut, and a straight-ahead style short on both art and guile. In spite of these flaws, Katsidis has managed to hang tough with world-class opposition because of his tenacity, conditioning, and will. You can also add a boomerang left hook to his list of attributes. His biggest shortcoming, however, might be a fairly weak right hand, one that will allow Burns a certain tactical leeway once the bell rings. By circling away from the left hook, Burns can effectively neutralize a high-powered?if one-dimensional?offense.
Despite being a slight underdog entering the fight, Burns, 32-2 (9), has a good chance of winning this bout if Katsidis is on the downward spiral. That, of course, is a mighty big ?if.? Frank Warren, who promotes Burns, understands the risk involved in bringing Katsidis back to England for a third time, but he is smart enough to realize that he has a genuine out-of-town villain?Katsidis?to build future stand-alone events around. This is in sharp contrast to the American/HBO model, where the hapless, the helpless, and the hopeless are little more than disposable zeroes often imported for losing cameo appearances only. Katsidis is looking to add Burns as his third U.K. victim, having already knocked out Graham Earl and Kevin Mitchell.
