Katie, Bar the Door: Marquez-Katsidis for Nov. 27, Khan-Maidana also in talks
by Scott Christ on Aug 25, 2010 6:19 PM EDT
in Boxing News Analysis
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Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reports that Juan Manuel Marquez has made a decision.
He's staying at 135 pounds. He's going to defend his lightweight championship. He's going to fight Aussie bruiser Michael Katsidis. The target date is November 27.
"So now we are going to try to put together the deal for Marquez and Katsidis. Hell of a fight. Toe to toe. Mano a mano," Schaefer said. "This is a great fight. I'm excited for the fighters and the fans as well. This is going to be non-stop action. Pound for pound, these are two of the most exciting fighters in boxing."
Brother, he ain't lyin'. This is one time where nobody has to spin a fight to get us excited.
Marquez (51-5-1, 37 KO) returned to the ring on July 31 with a second win over Juan Diaz. Katsidis (27-2, 22 KO) last fought in May, going over to England to demolish Kevin Mitchell inside of three rounds. This is the sort of fight that has Fight of the Year written all over it. Katsidis loves to brawl, has no fear of bleeding all over the ring to get a W. And Marquez works best as a nasty counter-puncher who feeds off of aggression. Few are more aggressive than Michael Katsidis.
You can stamp a big, red "WAR" right on this fight's forehead. It's a fight I've wanted to see the fight since last September, almost as soon as Marquez was routed by Floyd Mayweather Jr., with Katsidis calling him out to return to lightweight.
HBO is a huge fan of both fighters, of course, and with Marquez saying he wants the fight, and the knowledge that Katsidis definitely wants the fight, this fight looks like a go. It would come on Thanksgiving weekend, a day after Black Friday. Happy holidays, boxing fans.
With Marquez wisely choosing to not fight Amir Khan at 140 pounds, Schaefer also says that he'll go to work on a fight between Khan and Marcos Maidana, provided Maidana beats veteran DeMarcus "Chop-Chop" Corley on Saturday in Argentina. Khan-Maidana is another one that boxing fans have been calling for. Khan is set to return on December 11.
You can argue a lot of the time, but not with these fights.
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More than makes up for Kessler in my book!
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
Excited as I am, it remains hilarious/tragic to see what ideas run through the minds of the men who run boxing. From later in the Rafael piece:
“Marquez didn’t say he didn’t want to fight at 140, only that right now he wants to stay at 135,” Schaefer said. “But moving to 140 next year is very possible. We talked about him fighting Erik Morales at 140 next year. He can establish himself at 140, or if Morales wins, it would be big for him. The winner of that possible fight could be a potential opponent for Amir Khan.”
I pray that Morales retires again before this abomination can happen, because the worst part is, it could be a massive success in Mexico, as one of the few fights between that generation of Mexican greats that didn’t happen…y’know, back when it should have.
I am cautiously willing to entertain the Morales idea if he looks really good against Willie Limond. I mean, he’ll beat Willie Limond one way or the other, but he needs to look good for me to even go beyond “morbid curiosity” for a Marquez-Morales fight. Truth is, I’d order Marquez-Morales no matter what if it gets made, because I like both guys so much, but I have the same qualms with it that anyone does.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Aug 25, 2010 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions
That same statement makes any talk of JMM fighting Manny ridiculous!!!!
Oscar and Schaefer ought to talk more often….with each other….before talking to others.
I’m still trying to figure out which one is the mouth and which one is the ass.
looking forward to this
I love watching Marquez fight. I think a fight with Morales is unecessary, though.
by erasedcitizen on Aug 26, 2010 9:09 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
for serious. two guys tailor made with styles for one another to make it entertaining. straight up. i am already excited about this.
Gatti. Dekkers. Pele. Aoki. Kang. Vanderlei. Basillio. Harry Greb.
by theworldsoldestsport on Aug 26, 2010 12:09 PM EDT reply actions
I wonder if Khan-Maidana is a part of a brilliant scheme. Match Khan up with a bunch of tailor-made pillow punchers and get us so worked up to see he him face someone with some pop that we’ll overlook the slugger’s other deficiencies. I don’t think Khan-Maidana is competitive, but its exactly what everyone wants. A safe, non-competitive fight that everyone is clamoring for is every promoter’s wet dream.
I just don’t think Maidana has the speed or skills to get to Khan’s chin. Khan-Kotelnik reminded me of ODLH-Pacman. Khan would take 990 rounds out of 1,000 from Kotelnik purely because of the speed disparity. I see Amir vs Marcos being similar. Maidana-Ortiz made some people think Maidana is more skilled than he is. Ortiz wins that bout easily if he fights in a controlled, disciplined way. And thats exactly what Khan will do.
Kotelnik also wasn’t aggressive at all against Maidana. There’s definitely a very good chance that Khan routs Maidana. Overall, he is a better fighter, and that’s not particularly close. But I don’t think Maidana is quite as slow as he’s sometimes made out to be, and he’s very aggressive. I like the fight on paper, and at the very least we can say (if it happens) that Khan isn’t just facing feather fisted guys.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Aug 26, 2010 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Kotelnik also wasn’t aggressive at all against Maidana
against Khan, not Maidana.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Aug 26, 2010 7:11 PM EDT up reply actions
It very well could be a dominant shutout type of performance
And based solely on skills, that’s what it should be. But take Maidana’s power, together with Khan’s chin and penchant for making the occasional mistake where he gets caught, and it’s the kind of fight that could have fans at the edge of their seats simply because it could end any second, no matter how far ahead Khan gets.
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I fancy Khan to take him out within the distance if im honest
Im in agreement that Maidana will do well to get to Khans chin. His speed and jab combined are so domiment. Yes, he catches the chin then it’s night night.
This early on im liking a Khan stoppage late on
by Sweet science on Aug 26, 2010 7:37 PM EDT up reply actions
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