IN A SPORT where competitors literally put their lives on the line, two warriors who have shown exceptional courage in recent times are set to do battle in a must-watch bout tonight.
It may not have top-billing for tonight’s card at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, but the clash of Robert Guerrero and Michael Katsidis is intriguing and compelling, and will likely be an all-action affair.
Despite recording 28 wins from his 32 bouts so far, Guerrero is probably best known for continuing with his career while at the same time supporting his wife Casey, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2007. The man they call The Ghost even vacated the IBF Super Featherweight belt early last year as his wife received a bone-marrow transplant. Casey has been cancer-free for twelve months however, and will attend tonight.
Michael Katsidis has also faced hardship in recent times. His brother Stathi, one of Australia’s top jockeys, committed suicide last October. Despite this, Michael went through with a fight against Juan Manuel Marquez just weeks later. He knocked Marquez down in Round Three before the referee stopped the fight in the ninth. It was a typical all-action affair for Katsidis whose battles with Joel Casamayor in 2008, and in particular his win over Graham Earl in 2007 were as good as any you’ll ever see.
With 18 knockouts to his name, Guerrero also packs a punch so expect fireworks tonight. Their fight will be live on Sky Sports, as part of the Erik Morales – Marcos Maidana card; James Kirkland, Paulie Malignaggi and Nate Campbell will also be in action.
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Speaking of Sky Sports, the network has reportedly made an unprecedented move by pulling next weekend’s planned pay-per-view event, headlined by the World Title fight between Amir Khan and Dungiven’s Paul McCloskey.
Though not fully confirmed at the time of writing, it’s understood that bosses at Sky have decided that the event would not attract enough custom, in part because of problems with the undercard.
Matthew Macklin was initially due to be involved, in a World Title Eliminator bout against Khoren Gevor, but withdrew last week and while high-profile heavyweight contender Tyson Fury will be in action at the MEN Arena, his planned opponent Hasim Rahman has refused to travel from America.
The development is good news for fans who will now not have to shell out over €20 to see an Irishman hopefully win a World Title, but is bad news for Khan and McCloskey. The Englishman is set to see his payday fall by £1 million while McCloskey is also set to take a hit on his £200,000 fee.
Meanwhile, it’s been confirmed that Dublin-born Jamie Kavanagh, who has won the first five fights of his career in the US, will be in action in Manchester next Saturday against an opponent who has yet to be determined.
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Kevin McBride of Clones is regarded as little more than a journey-man these days, but the man who ended Mike Tyson’s career could propel himself back into World Title contention if he were to beat Pole Tomasz Adamek.
The pair clash in New Jersey tonight in what should be a tune-up fight for Adamek, who will fight one of the Klitschko brothers (likely Vitali) in Poland in September should he dispatch McBride without significant trouble. The Clones Colossus is a 50/1 outsider with some bookmakers, but knows a victory could be even more beneficial to his career than the win over Tyson in 2005.
“I shocked the world fair enough when I beat Mike Tyson, and I was promised all these different fights,” McBride said. “None of them materialized, but that’s boxing.”
“I know I’m getting older, and I know this is the last chance for me to do what I’ve got to do. I’m fit to go 12 hard rounds. There’s only two ways I’m going to be leaving that ring, and that’s with my hand raised or on a stretcher. And hopefully it’s not on a stretcher.”
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You will have read on TheScore this week about Rola El-Halabi who was shot by a man identified as her stepfather before a fight in Berlin on Saturday night. Rola remains in hospital – she was due to be transferred to a facility in her home city of Ulm on Friday. Her injuries are not life-threatening, but having sustained gunshot wounds to her hand, knee and feet, the future for her career looks bleak.
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This week in boxing history
Friday marked the fifth anniversary of a night in which the sport of boxing did not cover itself with glory.
Floyd Mayweather was troubled in the early stages of his welterweight contest with Zab Judah in Las Vegas, but as the fight entered the closing seconds of Round 10, Money was on top and cruising to the 36th career victory that he would ultimately record. However, a frustrated Judah hit Mayweather with a low blow and then one to the back of the head, sparking an angry reaction from Floyd’s uncle Roger and a number of others who were at ringside.
The ensuing brawl lasted four minutes, and while not the biggest in boxing’s history, it was certainly the headline-grabbing event of this shameful fight.
