The Queensland brawler Michael Katsidis suffered his fourth loss from his past five fights on Friday, leading to questions over his long-term future in boxing. Michael ‘The Great’ Katsidis lost in a majority points decision to Ghanaian Albert Mensah in Las Vegas last week.
The fight, which was shown live in Australia on ESPN, saw Katsidis move up to junior welterweight from his usual lightweight class and enlist a new trainer in Justin Fortune.
It was somewhat typical of Katsidis’ recent bouts – the Queenslander never gave up, he showed a lot of heart and entertained the crowd. He never stopped pressing Mensah, throwing hundreds of punches and engaging him around the ring.
Valiant, and a warrior, Katsidis went down swinging. His all-intensity approach meant he copped a lot of blows, too many accurate ones to win the fight, but he kept coming back for more.
You can’t help but admire Katsidis’ toughness and spirit. It’s why he is one of the great entertainers of world boxing, loved by fans around the globe. Despite this, he receives a little attention in his homeland, which I’ve written about on The Roar previously.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t resulted in recent victories. The Toowoomba product’s record now stands at 28 wins and six losses, with four of those defeats coming in the past year and a half.
Before the Mensah clash, Katsidis could have rightfully claimed that only current or former champions had beaten him – Ricky Burns, Robert Guerrero, Juan Manuel Marquez, Juan Diaz and Joel Casamayor.
But not now.
The 29-year from Ghana with the 25-3-1 record was too effective as a counter-puncher, and too big for the 31-year old Katsidis.
Where to now for the brave boxer?
It’s hard to say.
Katsidis has had to deal with his fair share of adversity and tragedy in recent times, the death of his champion jockey Stathi for one. He has had some amazing wars with the likes of Marquez, and they must have had an affect.
In his last fight the commentators were talking about Katsidis’ ability to take a punch, and whether all the big shots he has received over the years are starting to take their toll. He may be only 31, but he has copped more big blows than many other fighters the same age.
Many boxing experts were tipping that he might retire, and Katsidis himself publicly mooted the possibility before the Mensah fight. While it would be sad to see him put the gloves away, it would also make some sense.
But if this video is correct, then that won’t be the case.
Katsidis will apparently move back down to lightweight and keep modifying his fighting style. A re-match with Burns might be on the agenda.
Looks like Michael Alan Katsidis will box on for an elusive world title.
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