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An Associated Press report from Greg Beachem indicates that lightweight world champion Juan Manuel Marquez has agreed to terms to fight Michael Katsidis on November 27 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
It's a busy season for Golden Boy Promotions, as they're setting up a tremendous year-end run of cards after what has been a fairly disappointing year to date, for GBP and the rest of boxing. They're working on a November 6 card in Austin, Texas, featuring James Kirkland and Robert Guerrero; Marquez-Katsidis on November 27; Amir Khan against Marcos Maidana on December 11; and Bernard Hopkins will fight Jean Pascal on December 18.
Marquez (51-5-1, 37 KO) and Katsidis (27-2, 22 KO) are both reliable action fighters who promise a potential Fight of the Year with this bout. Marquez's lineal lightweight championship will be on the line. For Katsidis, it's a second crack at the legit championship, as he faced and lost to Joel Casamayor (the man Marquez dethroned) back in 2008 in a tremendous battle.
It's one of those fights that fight fans salivate over. The potential for high-octane action is incredibly high, in part because Marquez has slowed enough that he's taken to more toe-to-toe action in recent years. And toe-to-toe is exactly the sort of fight Katsidis loves.
The AP report also mentions that a Khan-Maidana fight, if accepted, will take place in Las Vegas or Detroit, a financially dead city that has come back into the world of combat sports this year. The city hosted the Andre Dirrell-Arthur Abraham bout, which had dismal attendance, and will play host to UFC 123 on November 20.