Michael Katsidis hoping for farewell fight in Australia

Michael Katsidis, who has been one of the most reliable action fighters of the last decade, is looking to finish up his active boxing career with one more fight in his hometown of Toowoomba, Australia, and has reunited with former trainer and manager Brendon Smith to make the event happen.

Katsidis (28-6, 23 KO) has been out of action since losing a terrific fight last year to Albert Mensah on ESPN Friday Night Fights, marking his second straight defeat and his fourth in five fights. Once a top contender at lightweight, Katsidis never did capture a full world title, but he had some fantastic nights along the way both in victory and defeat against Graham Earl, Czar Amonsot, Joel Casamayor, Juan Manuel Marquez, Kevin Mitchell, and Ricky Burns, among others.

"I'm clear to fight - my health is a number one priority. I've got a little daughter now. I'm in the transition period of my career now as I begin moving into the business world. But I want to give back something to Toowoomba and my fans. I want to fight again and go out on my terms.

"This is where I want to have my send-off. I believe I've achieved everything I can in boxing but I just want to fight again. Things went wayward for me after my brother (Stathi) died. There were hard moments for me to deal with. But having a send-off now in Toowoomba at my final fight is very important to me."

As long as he's healthy enough to fight and isn't looking to take anything particularly dangerous, I think this is a great idea. He's about to turn 33 and obviously understands that the dream of becoming world champion is gone, which is a hard pill for any fighter to swallow, especially one who came so close and gave so much to the sport and its fans.

Are you interested in seeing the Aussie brawler back in the ring one more time? What was your favorite Katsidis fight?