Ringside Report Looks Back at Former Boxing Champion Michael Katsidis

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By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

Southern hemisphere boxers. There have been quite a few that have traveled all the way to the UK and given us a scare. Whilst former WBO heavyweight champion, Joseph Parker has his fight with Junior Fa touted as the biggest thing down under, it was the smaller guys that kept us awake at night beforehand.

The night that Ricky Hatton won against Kosta Tszyu remains large in our memories, but he was far from being a lone wolf and skilled practitioner in the art of the pugilistic sciences from the other side of the world. Michael Katsidis, 33-8, 24 KO’s, active from 2001 until 20XX and fighting mainly at lightweight won the WBO interim lightweight title twice and also fought twice for the lineal title.

After representing his country at his home Olympics in Sydney in 2000, where he did not manage to get past the second round, he turned over in 2001. A third round stoppage in his first fight, for the Queensland State title started his pro career in Toowoomba against Danny Wilson on the 1st of December that year and then in only his second contest he became the Australian lightweight champion with a points win over James Swan, again in Toowoomba. His amateur pedigree getting him the credit he deserved prior to becoming a professional boxer.

Katsidis hit a wall in 2001 when a conviction for assault meant he was to spend time in prison thus making it difficult to travel to the States where the implication for getting a visa are tight – he was apparently refused on two occasions. If there is one thing likely to hamper your career, being unable to get to where the big fights take place is going to be close to the number one hindrance. What he needed was a reason for people to notice him.

Katsidis amassed the Australian title again in 2004, the WBO Asia Pacific title against Thongchai Treeviset in 2004 with a 9th round stoppage in Toowoomba, defended it in Penrith, in a first round stoppage against Yuttapong Srisai, won the IBF Pan Pacific title against Sergio Rafael Liendo in Toowoomba after his opponent retired in the 8th round, defended his WBO title again against Ranee Ganoy by stoppage in Brisbane, and then climbed in the ring for his first world title fight.

What American was denied, came to the UK in 2007 when Katsidis was slated to take on Graham Earl at Wembley Arena for the new WBO lightweight crown. Katsidis triumphed with a fifth round stoppage after the referee had refused to stop the fight in the third round, despite Earl’s cornerman having thrown in the towel! The 2007 fight has entered folklore in the UK both for his fight, the competitive nature of the fight and the referee refusing to accept the towel being thrown in.

The momentum was enough to get Katsidis into the United States, despite his conviction, and he defended his title against Czar Amonsot in Vegas. Part of the pay per view undercard in support of the Bernard Hopkins/Winky Wright fight this was a brutal affair leaving both boxers in hospital but Katsidis with a unanimous points win.

In 2008 his credentials were seriously tested when he went in against the WBC and Ring magazine champion, Joel Casamayor. In his fight with Amonsot, his susceptibility to cuts and bruises was exposed and here again it was to contribute to the referee stopping the fight in the tenth round. Katsidis had been floored three times previous to the stoppage but that allied with the mess he was in and a flurry of unanswered punches gave him no option.

His first loss was swiftly followed by another, 6 months later, as he took on Juan Diaz for the IBO lightweight championship in 2009, in Houston. Katsidis was way below his best and lost a split decision with his face once more the map of the fight.

Redemption began and managing to scoop up the WBO Asia Pacific title next time, and once more, in a points win against Angel Hugo Ramirez, in Cebu City, certainly helped a great deal.

He was then to enter the Lightweight Lightening event organized by Golden Boy which was an elimination contest. Beating Jesus Chavez – Chavez quit in his stool after round 7 –led to Vincente Escobedo. The fight was to be another tough one for Katsidis and he ended with a split decision win and a face which again was the story of a brutal contest. Katsidis was again the interim WBO champ!

15th May 2010 and the UK was to see Katsidis back in London. Frank Warren was to bring him to the home of West Ham United, to face our very own West Ham fan Kevin Mitchell. Defending his interim title with the hope of a full title tilt against the holder of the full belt, Juan Manuel Marquez, Katsidis did his bit by stopping Mitchell in the third round. The WBO acted and mandated a fight between Marquez and Katsidis.

Marquez decided he would defend his WBO, WBA and Ring magazine belts against Katsidis and the fight was slated for 27th November. The man who had ended up in prison was now headlining at the MGM Grand. Katsidis played his part and knocked Marquez to the floor in the third but was to be stopped in the ninth and lose his second attempt to win the lineal lightweight championship.
His title fights were not at an end as he faced Robert Guerrero for the interim WBA and interim WBO titles but Katsidis was in decline, losing to Guerrero in a points loss that was to indicate the beginning of the end – the margins, despite Katsidis being deducted points were significant.

Katsidis tried his hand successfully at light welterweight before he came back down to take on Scotland’s Ricky Burns at the Wembley Arena for the vacant WBO interim title for a third time! Burns was to inflict Katsidis’ first defeat in the UK on points on the 5th November 2011 and father time was beginning to make his presence felt.

Katsidis took the decision to try and find a new trainer to resurrect his long and distinguished career. In came fellow Australian, Justine Fortune and in they went in against Albert Mensah in Las Vegas in 2012, at light welterweight for the IBF international title: Katsidis was beaten by majority decision. Another change of trainer followed, suggested fights and inactivity then took up time as he was seriously struggling to make himself a world title level contender.

In 2013, Katsidis got the news that MRI and CAT scans had revealed scarring on the brain. Retirement beckoned and he announced it in 2012 after the Mensah fight but he then came back and fought on.

First, he went back to his original trainer, Brendon Smith, then beat Eddy Comaro, stopping him in the third round. At light welterweight he faced again the British fighter, Graham Earl but this time in Toowoomba, and beat him comfortably on points.

Then on the 25th October 2014 he travelled to Hull in England for his final UK fight to take on Tommy Coyle. Coyle stopped him in the second round for the IBF international title and taking the hint from the boxing Gods, surely now Katsidis would retire? There were to be five more fights – one in 2015 and the rest in 2017.

In 2017 he was back in the ring and in the Super 8 tournament where he won the quarter final against Robert Toomey but then lost in the semi final against Jamie Hilt in a 3 round split decision!

He has thankfully not fought since.

As you survey his career, we have many highlights and few if any lowlights in a period within the boxing world which included winning world titles, a period in prison, appearing at the MGM Grand as a headliner, losing championship fights, beating people he was expected to lose to and managing to fight on despite an injury sustained due to the sport. Not a bad return overall for the boxing world, not bad at all.

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