Is This It? Juan Manuel Marquez vs Michael Katsidis Preview & Prediction.
[As] a songwriter, you play a few chords and sing a melody that’s been done a thousand times, and now you’re a singer-songwriter. I think it takes a little more than that to do something that matters. And I wish I could write a song where all the parts work. When you hear a song like that, it’s like finding a new friend.“
—Julian Casablancas, on his philosophy of creating songs and his aim for the music of Is This It.
Casablancas and his cronies stole my title back in 2001 to ferry in a cattle truck of fresh pals for haircuts and clinging jeans the world over. Michael Jackson had a pop at rearranging it some last year with considerably less success. “Doing something that matters” has always been a precarious quest, made even more difficult in the business of fighting as boxers are forced to perform with a writing partner looking to render them unconscious throughout. The result is more often Ozzy Osbourne and Miss Piggy than Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
Thankfully Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsidis appear to be willing collaborators on their latest project; a late bid to steal fight of the year from under the noses of Giovani Segura and Ivan Calderon.
Marquez is the lightweight champion of the world, a war veteran in his twilight. As he approaches an invisible line beyond his 38th year, one which has continually tripped up all but the most wily of campaigners, he has very few big nights ahead of him. Thankfully his back catalogue has assured a lingering presence once his gloves are in storage, a great fighter who really has done what others can only boast of, after having mixed with the best fighters of his generation.
His opponent and number one contender is an emotional time bomb. Katsidis relies less on technique and more on feeling, a dude who’d have no problems popping on a blast helmet before swinging for the fences should trainer Brendon Smith suggest he let go his conscious self and act on instinct. Yet this time, controlling his feelings could be his greatest challenge of all.
Locked away in his Spartan training camp in Phuket, Thailand, news filtered through to him that his brother, Stathi had been found dead. Faced with an excruciating dilemma, Katsidis chose to forego the funeral in order to stay in the fight, releasing the following statement:
“I have lost my closest friend, my inspiration in life, my one and only brother. This is something I could never imagine, but for some reason I feel his life is not a loss. My brother is me! We live our lives through each other. We dedicate our triumphs to one another and share the challenges we face in life…The fight will go on! I will do this for Stathi, my family and myself.”
In the third defence of his crown, Marquez finds himself having to deal with a man possessed.
In terms of skill, one could make an argument that a mismatch is on the cards, however, boxing would be a poorer sport if technique consistently ruled the day. Marquez is a pinpoint stylist, a fantastically game skirmisher with a grasp on every punch in the book. Straight right hands, sledgehammer uppercuts, crisp jab, left hooks, he’s got the lot and he’s married it all to the in-ring nous of a grand master.
After emerging from the shadow cast by compatriots Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, Marquez may have surpassed them both. Yet it’s rarely been easy.
A cursory look through his 51-5-1 (37) resume reveals a stellar list of duets with the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Joel Casamayor, Barrera, Floyd Mayweather and Chris John and he’s either had to drag himself off the canvas or fight through bloodied features in all of them. As competitive a creature as there’s ever been in a prize ring, his performances are full of rhythm and beat.
Katsidis is cut from the cloth which wrapped Arturo Gatti and Bobby Chacon. A dynamic action fighter who was virtually X-rated through 2007-08, winning a couple of classics before losing a couple, he looks to be at the peak of his powers. After being outmaneuvered by the clever pivoting of Juan Diaz in the latter of those defeats, Katsidis returned with four wins on the bounce, the most recent of which showed a shrewder and more measured approach. Purchased and imported as a mere stepping stone for England’s Kevin Mitchell to skip across, Katsidis intimidated the life out of the younger man before blasting him to defeat inside three rounds.
At the age of 30 and with a ledger of 27-2 (22), Katsidis, from Toowoomba, Australia and of Greek heritage, would appear to be perfectly placed to face his greatest challenge.
The bigger and stronger man, Katsidis will attempt to riff with Marquez mid-ring initially, yet once the Mexican starts cranking home perfectly placed combinations, he’ll quickly switch to battering ram mode. Whilst such an approach would appear to play directly into the Marquez’s hands, allowing him to rat-a-tat away with retaliatory bursts, Katsidis may generate far too much pressure for the old war horse to bear.
Marquez, as one might expect, has been busting up considerably of late and whilst his whipping shots are just as likely to lacerate and contort the face of his opponent, Katsidis will be hitting with such fury, the possibility exists that the champion could wilt physically rather than mentally.
Against the grain, I have a feeling that might well be the case, with a protesting Marquez pulled from the fray by his cornermen late on, after a pulverising contest which will see the lightweight crown change hands.
The Marquez family have had a lock on fight of the year triumphs over recent years and whilst picking Katsidis is a gamble, I’m far more convinced that the resulting battle is less of a reach to keep it that way. Fight of the year? Is this it? It could well be and if the parts do end up all working together, fight fans will find themselves with a new pal.
Marquez is the bookies favourite at odds of around 2/5 with Katsidis an attractive 2/1 outsider. Katsidis by stoppage bears attention at 10/3.
Leave a Reply
Blog at WordPress.com. Theme: Duotone by Automattic.
