Heading into 2008, fighters Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis were both young undefeated boxers in the lightweight division.
Diaz was the unified IBF, WBO and WBA lightweight champion and Katsidis was slowly getting his rise in the division, mostly making his name with knockouts in Australia.
Three months into 2008, both would record their first career losses, with Diaz losing all three of his lightweight belts.
Diaz was stunned by charging veteran Nate Campbell in Cancun, Mexico on March 8.
Campbell wasted no time in the match, taking it to Diaz from Round 1 en route to a split decision in one of the best upsets of 2008.
Fourteen days later, Katsidis took on crafty veteran Joel Casamayor for Casamayor’s linear Ring Magazine lightweight belt.
Sitting ringside at The Casino Morongo Resort and Spa in Cabazon, California, I had no idea the March 22 bout would turn into a Fight of The Year 2008 candidate.
Katsidis was dropped twice in the first round on two straight right hands, but fought on valiantly and knocked Casamayor out of the ring in the sixth round.
Katsidis was wore down and eventually TKO’d in the 10th round, but the fight was a see saw battle with plenty momentum shifts.
Both now look to get back on the winning track when they face each other at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas for the vacant IBO lightweight championship. (As listed on boxrec.com)
Neither fighter wants their careers defined by their first defeats.
Diaz, (33-1, 17KO’s) had the division on lock until he stepped in with Campbell.
He had scored victories over Fernando Angulo, Jose Miguel Cotto, Acelino Freitas and Julio Diaz.
Meanwhile Katsidis, (23-1 20 KO’s) had 20 KO’s in 22 fights.
Both fighters stepped in against solid veterans, and went into the later rounds, with Diaz going all twelve, before both fell to the experience each opponent possessed.
Diaz wants his titles back.
“I feel that Campbell took something from me and I want to get it back,” said Diaz. “I have that fire again and come September 6, on HBO I’m going to unleash it.”
Oscar watch: 2008 – Weight a minute!
After weeks of this ‘Oscar watch: 2008’ portion of this article, Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions, alongside Top Rank, announced that DLH will fight Manny Pacquiao on December 6 in a 12 round non-title welterweight bout at the MGM in Las Vegas.
The fight, while being a potential blockbuster mega bout that could garner huge revenue that may rival DLH’s bout last May with Floyd Mayweather, has received harsh criticism from some in the boxing media.
Their main concern: with a bevy of opponents in his own division, (Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto, Paul Williams, etc.) DLH is challenging Pacquiao, a career featherweight who has had just one fight at lightweight, to jump up two more divisions to welterweight.
De La Hoya stands to have sizeable advantages in weight, height, reach, and power against the smaller Pacquiao.
DLH is listed at 5’10 ? with a 73″ reach, while Pacquiao is 5’6 ? with a 67″ reach.
Yahoo!’s esteemed boxing writer Kevin Iole, recognized in journalism by the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007, summed things up pretty well.
“Someone has to make DLH realize that a loss to a fighter like Margarito would be far less embarrassing than a win over a guy so much smaller would be.”
Immediately after his July bout with the previously undefeated Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, as the new WBA welterweight champion, opened the door for De La Hoya.
“We can give Mexicans a real boxing show,” he said to HBO cameras.
De La Hoya has said in the past that he would not fight a fellow Mexican.
He has also said he would not fight a Puerto Rican, (Cotto) at his wife’s (who is Puerto Rican) request.
Those two explanations knocked out his two best possible opponents.
He then shifted gears to Pacquiao when trainer Freddie Roach, who trained De La Hoya for his mega bout last year with Floyd Mayweather and now trains Pacquiao, told the media that he believed Pacquiao could not only beat DLH, but knock him out.
Roach went further by saying “this isn’t the Oscar of ten years ago” and “De La Hoya has a hard time pulling the trigger.”
De La Hoya claimed he felt challenged by the statements, and sought to make the fight happen.
After initial negotiations faltered due to a purse split disagreement, the two came to terms and we now face a mega bout to round out the boxing year, December 6 in Las Vegas.
Mayweather Sr. to train “Hitman”
After dropping his longtime trainer Billy Graham, who also trained his twin brother, Matthew Hatton, Ricky “Hitman” Hatton has enlisted trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. to be in his corner for his upcoming bout with IBF junior welterweight champion Paul Malignaggi on November 22.
“At this stage of my career I am not going to change my style too much, but you are never too old to learn,” said Hatton.
“I have spoken with my team and we are all sure that I’ll benefit from Floyd’s incredible knowledge.”
