Juan Manuel Marquez Stops Michael Katsidis in Nine

Juan Manuel Marquez Stops Michael Katsidis in Nine

By John Novoselac at ringside (Nov 28, 2010) Doghouse Boxing (Photos © German Villasenor, Doghouse)
-

The lightweight championship of the world was on the line tonight, and Michael Katsidis came bearing the recent loss of his brother as he challenged Mexican warrior champion Juan Manuel Marquez. A very pro Marquez crowd turned out once again, as they did for his brother Rafael in this same building a few weeks ago, only this time the Marquez family would emerge with a victory.

Marquez came out behind his jab, in typical Beristein fashion. The re-tooled Katsidis has him holding a tight high guard and employing much more head movement. Katsidis came forward as we all thought he would, and Marquez obliged with some fine body work and uppercuts.

Katsidis aggression at 2:11 of the 3rd paid off as a hard shot sent Marquez to his butt. A winging left hook to the chin stunned the veteran Mexican, but he fought back harder than anyone could have expected and gave us a round for the year. The very high pace fight continued into the 4th, as the accuracy of Marquez was proving to be a difficult task for the Australian.

The 5th round was more vintage Marquez. Katsidis pressed but the sneaky counter work of Marquez was simply too much for him to match. Even at 37 years old he was showing the classic Mexican style that has made him famous. Nothing would deter Katsidis' determination as he knew nothing other than to keep pressing. The fight was being waged at a frenetic pace through the 6th round, and showed no signs of slowing.

The fight found its way to every nook and cranny of the ring, as Marquez fought in the corners and off the ropes, countering and leading throughout the 7th round, as he built a lead on the cards. The 8th round was more of the same, and the fans in attendance were roaring with their approval.

The bravery of Michael Katsidis would only take him so far. Marquez battered him around the ring in the 9th round with more picture perfect punches and referee Kenny Bayless stopped the brutality at 2:14 of the 9th round. The crowd voiced its displeasure with the stoppage as their yearned to see the Mexican hero get his more definitive ending. What they did receive was well worth the price of admission, and fans came away on the holiday weekend night with a very entertaining night of boxing at the highest level.

Undercard Results

Andre Berto defended his WBC welterweight title with a first round highlight reel knockout of Mexico's Freddy Hernandez. A left swept wide and a straight right came down the middle landing just to the side of Hernandez' guard, and it was all over. Hernandez rose on shaky legs as the referee waved it off. The time of the TKO was 2:07.

Afterward, Berto said 'You guys (media) have been giving me a lot of hassle, so I wanted to give a good performance. I was just throwing a jab, I jabbed to the stomach and came over with the right. His left had been dropping.

On the future, he said, 'I've had all my appetizers. Now I'm ready for the main course. Mosley, Cotto, or definitely Pacquiao. I think I'm the best available fight for Pacquiao.'

In a 10 round junior lightweight fight, an action fight erupted between Panama's Celestino Caballero and St. Paul, Minnesota native Jason Litzau. Scores were 96-94, 96-94, 97-93 with the split decision going to Litzau.

Litzau came in a 15-1 underdog, and fought his heart out. He continually applied pressure throughout the fight, wearing down the taller Caballero, who was making his debut at 130 in search of bigger fights. Someone forgot to tell Litzau about that, as pushed Caballero over the course of his fight, imposing his limited skills behind an obviously well conditioned body.

When asked what the issue was with his performance tonight, the typically technically superior Caballero said, 'The weight, I was feeling too heavy and I couldn't move my feet. He was using illegal punches to measure me. He was running the whole fight.'

Questions or comments,
e-mail

John at: jnovoselac@yahoo.com

NEW: Follow Doghouse Boxing on FaceBook!
For more Boxing News 24/7 and so much more...
visit our homepage now!