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Katsidis-Guerrero, Maidana-Cayo looking set for March 27 on HBO

Michael Katsidis looks ready to return in March against Robert Guerrero. (Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Michael Katsidis looks ready to return in March against Robert Guerrero. (Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Rick Reeno is reporting today that terms have been reached for the rumored HBO Boxing After Dark double-header on March 27, featuring a lightweight main event between Michael Katsidis and current junior lightweight titlist Robert Guerrero.

Guerrero (25-1-1, 17 KO) won the IBF 130-pound title in a good, close scrap last August against Malcolm Klassen. He's also a former IBF featherweight titlist. Katsidis (26-2, 21 KO) was last seen on the Mayweather-Marquez undercard, winning a rough but wide decision over Vicente Escobedo. That fight was for the interim WBO title. If Juan Manuel Marquez, who holds the full WBO title right now, decides to fight Amir Khan at 140 pounds, Katsidis-Guerrero would almost surely be for the full WBO belt.

I like this fight a lot on paper. Both are good, generally enjoyable fighters to watch, and both have a solid killer instinct when they get guys in trouble. Think back to Guerrero's win over Jason Litzau and how badly he destroyed a "cowboy" fighter that night. At the same time, Katsidis is physically strong, has a really good threshold for pain, and takes a horrible beating before he goes down, if he's going to go down.

Speed would be on Guerrero's side, and technique, too. He's a better boxer. But Katsidis can be such a bull, and that forces me to recall Guerrero's truncated fight against Daud Yordan last year. Many felt he simply quit when he was cut early because he didn't like the pressure that the upstart Yordan was putting on him. If nothing else, Katsidis constantly comes forward and doesn't like to give guys time to breathe. If Guerrero has trouble dealing with pressure, he could be in a lot of trouble.

He could also use his speed and legs to outbox Katsidis all night. There are plenty of ways for this fight to go. It's a good one. It also speaks to the complete lack of options at 130, because "The Ghost" only moved up to that weight last year. With Humberto Soto moving to 135, too, there are almost no names with any American TV value in the division.

The co-feature would pit interim WBA junior welterweight titlist Marcos Maidana (27-1, 26 KO) against hot prospect Victor Cayo (24-0, 16 KO). Cayo had a year of step-up wins in '09. At 25, he's yet to face anyone quite as good as Maidana, or anyone that punches like him. It's another very interesting fight, and while the idea in theory -- and in the press -- is to mold something bigger out of a possible Amir Khan-Maidana fight, they'd both be taking fights they could very well lose in the coming months.

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Isn’t Katsidis gonna be too big? Not that he’s a huge lightweight or anything, but Guerrero was just at 126, and Katsidis has been at 135 his whole career.

I definitely like the other fight though.

by taco pal on Feb 2, 2010 10:35 PM EST reply actions  

It’s a possible issue for Guerrero. Katsidis is a burly dude and tough to budge.

Bad Left Hook
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by Scott Christ on Feb 2, 2010 11:16 PM EST up reply actions  

I see Guerrero’s got more height and reach. But still…

by taco pal on Feb 2, 2010 10:38 PM EST reply actions  

Katsidis isn’t one of my favorite boxers….he starts bleeding in the dressing room….but I thi nk he has too much stregth and pressure for Guerro.

by FrankinDallas on Feb 2, 2010 11:53 PM EST reply actions  

Which fighter will be able to better handle a little blood dripping into his eye?

"And so, as, uh, Heavyweight Champion recognized by nine of the fourteen sanctioning bodies..." -Drederick Tatum, The Simpsons

by BloodMeridian on Feb 3, 2010 12:25 AM EST reply actions  

good fights and matchmaking.

i would give props to hbo but nahhh

"Newspapermen ask dumb questions. They look up at the sun and ask if it is shining."
-Sonny Liston

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by sonofapsycho on Feb 3, 2010 7:51 AM EST reply actions  

With the announcement that Bute's opponent is Miranda

I firmly back your decision to scrap giving praise to HBO.

Plus the fact that they’ve been giving Khan contract stipulations and special priviliges, is a disgrace to the sport.

by Dafs on Feb 4, 2010 4:41 PM EST up reply actions  

Who else was Bute going to fight?

Look at the IBF top 15. Miranda was probably the best option available, unless they could have gotten Stieglitz to leave Germany.

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"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Feb 4, 2010 6:46 PM EST up reply actions  

Guerrero's always rubbed me the wrong way

Not exactly sure why, and that started to go away when his wife was struggling with cancer, but there’s just something about the guy I don’t like. Probably how half the time he doesn’t seem to take his career seriously. I feel like he has more talent than he capitalizes on. Interesting that he’s moving up to 135 this quickly though. He probably should have stayed at 126 frankly. That division’s about to get hot, and there’s probably more money there than at lightweight.

If Guerrero fights smart he can beat Katsidis, but that’s always been one of Guerrero’s downfalls – inability to stick to the game plan. Should be an interesting fight at least.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Feb 3, 2010 10:54 AM EST reply actions  

Might just be a one-time deal. Especially if he loses.

by taco pal on Feb 3, 2010 11:55 AM EST up reply actions  

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