Late last week, I sent in a request to Monica Sears of Golden Boy Promotions to see if I could get a few minutes with Michael Katsidis, who faces future Hall-of-Famer Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBO lightweight crown this Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Katsidis, who I had gotten to know fairly well back in 2007 and 2008, as he lived in Marina Del Rey (where we once filmed an arduous workout session of his where I actually participated), now conducts his training camps in Thailand.
I was told Katsidis arrived to the States on Wednesday night. Sears told me through several emails that Michael wasn’t going to make himself available for any one-on-one sessions with reporters but, given our history, he would make an exception in this instance. However, there was one caveat- no questions regarding the death of his brother, Stathi, who was found dead of a suspected drug overdose in Brisbane, Australia in mid-October (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/).
It was an understandable request, I felt. After all, public figures like Katsidis have their private lives discussed over and over in public settings. It’s the world we live in, where glass houses can be shattered in 140-character messages. It’s hard enough having to prepare for a daunting task like facing Marquez without any distractions; one could only imagine what that would be like with having to answer incessant questions about the death of a beloved brother. I would comply with this stipulation; I had a story to write and the fans wanted to hear from Katsidis. Now, how he will hold off the expected onslaught of questions from the cadre of reporters in Las Vegas, who knows?
For a short spell, there were questions as to whether Katsidis would go through with his assignment on Thanksgiving weekend. But if you knew anything about this guy, who sees himself as a modern-day gladiator who fights just as much for pride as money, you knew he would absolutely fight on. That’s who he is; that’s what he does.
But to make it clear to the public, he released this statement last month:
I have lost my closest friend, my inspiration in life, my one and only brother. This is something I could never imagine, but for some reason I feel his life is not a loss. My brother is me! We live our lives through each other. We dedicate our triumphs to one another and share the challenges we face in life. What does someone do when they lose the one person in their life like this? They are devastated right? Allow me to share with you Stathi’s thoughts and what he wants. If you can believe me, I feel you will all be somewhat enlightened to hear what I have say.
The fight will go on! I will do this for Stathi, my family and myself. The moment I walked in for a grueling sparing session after hearing the news of his death earlier that day, my trainer Brendon Smith shook my hand and said to me “you are about to take the bravest step of your life.” We nodded, smiled and went to work. I worked as I have never done before. He is with me and will be all the way. I am happy about this.
I have never experienced anything like I felt that day. Stathi is inside me! We will fight this fight together. I know this is what he wants.
I would like to thank everyone for their well wishes and prayers for my brother, my family and myself. God bless.
Michael Katsidis
And like Forrest Gump, that’s about all he’ll say about that.
But I did ask Ms. Sears permission to ask this one question- was there any doubt he would go through with this fight?
“No, no, we’ve both known for a long time this fight was going to happen,” said Katsidis on Friday afternoon, via cell-phone. “It’s been in the making for a long time. I think a lot of people wanted to see this fight, as well. But Marquez knew this was imminent following his loss to Mayweather and there was pressure on him to fight me. He said he couldn’t make lightweight at that state and he went ahead and fought Juan Diaz. But we both knew he was ordered to fight me and then we pushed the issue. And here we are, ready to have the fight.”
Yeah, my question didn’t exactly relate to this fight being mandated by the WBO. But y’ know what? It’ll be about the only dancing he ever does. Katsidis is a straight-ahead, aggressive banger, no special effects. Marquez won?t need a GPS to find him but will he be built to order against the master counterpuncher?
“I’ll be keeping my cards close to my chest. I mean, I’m like that all the time but I won?t be giving away nothing as far as how I view him or how he views me and what I think about how he looks at this or looks at that. Because that’s all part of my game plan and all the rest of it,” Katsidis explained. “Look, but one thing I will say, I don’t think I’ve got anything Marquez hasn’t seen before. He’s seen everything; he’s got all the tools of the trade. He’s an accomplished boxer in every means of the sport and I expect everything and then some on that night.
“That’s just black and white.”
?Black and white? could be an apt description of Katsidis? style; give no quarter; take no quarter. When he burst onto the scene a few years ago, Katsidis went on a Gatti-esque streak, where every one of his fights was a ?Fight of the Year? candidate. But he swears it’s nothing that is necessarily a goal of his. “I don’t care about that; that’s got nothing to do with why or how my game comes out,” he insisted. “It’s got nothing to do with it. That’s just what happens. I think that’s what makes all the exciting fights when I just throw it all on the line. So I don’t care about any of that, what makes a good fight or not. I just go out there to win.”
Since Katsidis first came to America, he has suffered losses to the likes of Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz. They say that losses like these can be instructive and invaluable to young pugilists. Is that true or just a tired clich??
Katsidis says, “No, no, no, that’s very much the case. I think from everyone with their experiences in life in general, you have a bad experience and in boxing, you have a loss and then you gain from these things. You can see from a lot of my fights, I’ve progressively become a better boxer. I’m more defensive, a bit of everything as the years have developed. I came onto the scene pretty quickly in ’97, ’98 with some wins there. I’ve been around a bit; I’ve progressively improved.”
His r?sum? is dotted with notable names: Casamayor, Diaz, Graham Earl, Jesus Chavez, Vicente Escobedo and Kevin Mitchell. But there’s no doubt that he’ll be facing the most talented and skilled boxer he has ever come across in Marquez.
“No question about that whatsoever. He’s the best of the best. He’s the most accomplished fighter I’ve fought yet,” he states without hesitation. When asked what a victory over the Mexico City native would mean, he says, “This is the pinnacle, this fight here, like you talk about the lightweight division being very hot for a long time and I’ve endured through all the great fighters that have come through. I’ve endured through the entire period while the lightweight division has been hot and here I am, on the 27th fighting for supremacy of the division. I mean, this is everything. I think if there’s anything I’m going to be remembered by, it would be this fight.
“Of course, I’ve had those losses,? Katsidis continued. ?Marquez knocked out two guys that beat me. So there’s so much to gain and he’s a legend and he still is; he’s an accomplished legend. He’s as good as he’s ever been. He showed that in his last wins against Diaz, especially in 2009. So this means everything this fight. That goes without saying.”
And no matter what has transpired in his professional or personal life, expect Michael Katsidis to be Michael Katsidis.
“Same as usual. The same Katsidis,” he says with resolve. “Just throw it all on the line.”
THE WORKOUT
If you’re wondering what type of workout I did with Katsidis back in the summer of 2007 (which is somewhere in our Max-TV vaults with Brian Harty), I was invited by his manager/trainer Brendan Smith to come and join them at their newly constructed condominium complex in Marina Del Rey to join them on their Saturday afternoon session.
The regimen was this: for three minutes, you pounded on this huge tire (the type used on tractors) with a sledgehammer, rotating between doing it left and right-handed each time). Then after that, with the help of Brendan, you push this small pickup truck that was in neutral about 50 yards down the driveway that lead into the parking structure. Then, on the way back, there was this wheelbarrow full of big cement chips, gravel and stone and you had to rush back and push it toward where you started.
Then you started the process all over again. We went through three circuits. Katsidis usually did five but made this accommodation for me to shorten the workout.
I don’t want to say it was difficult (because that’s all relative) but even my eyelids were sore after this workout. One thing I’ll never forget his just how well it worked my legs, my core and my back.
VIVA MARAVILLA
The Haymon Boxing Organization and HBO did all they could to make it as difficult as possible for Sergio Martinez before his rematch with Paul Williams this past weekend (from basically forcing a catchweight of 157 pounds to more symbolic gestures like having Martinez introduced first, even though he was the champion) but when it was all said and done, ?Maravilla? took care of business the old-fashioned way. And don’t cry for me Argentina (or Martinez) because with one booming left hand, he has officially served notice of his arrival as a marquee player.
Martinez is no longer just a B-side. A foreign boxer with matinee idol looks who just happens to be well-respected by boxing aficionados or swooned over by the ladies. He is now clearly considered among the best in the sport.
In talking to his promoter, Lou DiBella (who is probably a step or three further now from walking away from this business after this weekend), he says that they will take on anyone who is willing and able from 154 to 160 pounds and they would like to see Martinez get in the ring by April. Here’s the thing, DiBella, now has a legitimate thoroughbred to jockey by himself. He isn’t shackled with any Haymon issues (like he is with Andre Berto) and he’s got a guy who has created an indelible buzz throughout the industry. The onus is now on him to act like a real, bona fide promoter and not just a glorified television packager who begs for dates and bitches when he doesn’t get them.
Martinez can be a star- but only if promoted and marketed properly.
As for Williams, well, at least now we don’t have to hear about Dan ?Lamb Chop’? Goossen plead incessantly for a fight with Manny Pacquiao anymore. But here’s the bottom line; since Williams became an HBO staple, like many other young, somewhat underdeveloped boxers of recent ilk, his progress stagnated while his activity waned. On Saturday night, once again, we saw a fighter who made poor use of his God-given tools. Despite being blessed with the height of a shooting guard and the wingspan of a 747, Martinez kept giving away his reach and distance, which is why Martinez’s trainer, Gabriel Sarmiento, believed that they would stop Williams in the second. As Williams shortened the gap between the two, Martinez was afforded a vacuum where he could connect with hard counter shots.
And the champion landed the shot heard ’round the boxing world.
It may be unfair to completely write off Williams but in terms of his reputation as this unstoppable force who was avoided by the game?s best, well, as he landed face-first to the canvas in Atlantic City, you might?ve just thought to yourself that all of Haymon’s horses and all of Haymon’s men may not be able to put Paul Williams back together again.
CONTE KO
I read with interest that Shane Mosley’s multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit against Victor Conte was dismissed this past week. Well, I hate to tell anyone, ‘I told you so’ but I did write this several months back:
http://www.maxboxing.com/news
Now I’m hearing quotes from Mosley stating that the reason this was dropped was because Conte had no money and it wasn’t worth his time and effort. Well, that’s interesting but the reality is that Conte has been not only able to fund his defense in this particular litigation but he did so several years ago against Olympian Marion Jones. I’m assuming that wasn’t cheap in either instance. However, the point is Conte?s economic standing probably didn’t change all that much since 2007, when this rather frivolous lawsuit was filed. And if this wasn’t about the money but simply clearing his name, well, Conte failed on that count also.
Once again, Mosley has not come clean with the truth. The stark reality is the individual who really hurt him here is not Conte but his lawyer Judd Burstein, who billed him a lot of money for a lawsuit that never had any real merit. Burstein once made a comment that this was a lawsuit that his family dog could win. Well, if that’s the case, did Mosley hire the second best attorney in that household?
So the question is, how much to put the pooch on retainer?
HOME SWEET HOME?
As of now, Mars is the leading contender to host the January 29th junior welterweight showdown between Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander. Well, not really, but the organizers of this show are having a bit of a problem in nailing down a venue for this fight. Last week, it looked like St. Louis was going to host this bout but then they ran into some complications.
Detroit/Pontiac and Atlanta, who were thought to be out of the running, are now back in the thick of things. Hey, wherever this fight lands, I plan on being there. As Dan Patrick once famously said, that’s my job; it’s what I do.
The difficulty in getting a destination for this bout is perhaps further proof that this match-up was made prematurely. While the hardcore fans may know who these guys are, the casual fan is still unaware of them. Alexander is a draw in St. Louis and Bradley, unfortunately, isn’t a draw anywhere. Maybe, just maybe, this fight should?ve been built up a bit to grow both boxers? profiles.
But hey, nobody ever listens to me.
FINAL FLURRIES
The announced attendance for Martinez-Williams was around 5,500. I’m told that Fernando Guerrero (who stopped the shopworn Saul Duran on the card) accounted for 2,300 of those tickets…WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz defeated Enrique Ornelas this past weekend in Germany. I still say he and IBF champion Lucian Bute is a good fight to be made. Some of you have inquired about the possibility of Bute-Martinez but DiBella was adamant that they are not moving up to 168…Carlos Baldomir won a close, hard-fought split decision in ten over Amilcar Funes in Argentina in what was a pretty good scrap?In watching the replay of the Pacquiao-Margarito fight, it’s clear that the ?Pac-Man? is as tough as he is talented. In fact, it’s his most underrated trait as a fighter…Remember that sophomore slump I talked about the Jets? Mark ?San-chise? having? Yeah, uh, never mind…As for Vince Young, grow up or get out. I think Jeff Fisher has had about enough of his act…Sorry, Miami fans, but we’re stuck with Randy Shannon for at least another season, in my opinion…
