Amir Khan Vs Michael Katsidis will Khan fight Katsidis
After Amir Khan’s successful American debut at Madison Square Garden earlier this month, there has been a lot of speculation about his potential future fights. It was assumed by many that his next fight in the UK – tentatively scheduled for the end of July – would merely serve as a tune-up for a junior welterweight title unification fight against either Timothy Bradley or Devon Alexander in the United States later this year.
Based on this belief, BoxingScene.com has some intriguing news. They have reported that Sampson Lewkowicz, the advisor to interim WBO lightweight Michael Katsidis, has confirmed that he has been approached by Golden Boy Promotions as a possible opponent for Khan for his next fight. However, while Lewkowicz is admittedly intrigued by the prospect of Katsidis fighting Khan, he told the Web site that it would not be his first option.
Instead, Lewkowicz said that Katsidis would prefer to fight the winner of the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz fight scheduled to take place on July 31 for the WBO lightweight title. Recently, the WBO mandated that the winner of the Marquez vs. Diaz fight face Katsidis to unify the interim and “full” titles. Either fighter would be an intriguing target for Katsidis, who lost to Diaz in 2008 and has accused Marquez of ducking him in the past.
But what about the potential for a fight against Khan? Even Lewkowicz admits that it would potentially be a huge draw, especially in the UK and Europe. However, it would also require that Katsidis move up from lightweight in order to take on Khan – something he is capable of doing but hasn’t done since 2006 when he stopped Jakkirt Suwunnalirt in the second round. That could be a serious concern, especially when dealing with a fighter as potentially powerful as Khan.
If the fight does take place, it has the potential to be one of the most entertaining fights of the year. Katsidis matches a high work rate with power – a combination that Khan has never faced in one fighter as a professional. As Katsidis proved in beating Kevin Mitchell in three rounds earlier this month, he still has fight-changing power and would prove to be a stern test – especially to the questionable chin of Khan.
Even though Khan’s victory against Paulie Malignaggi was impressive on many levels, it certainly did little to alleviate concerns about Khan’s ability to take a hard punch. These concerns were brought to the forefront in Khan’s only professional loss, when he was floored twice and stopped within two minutes of the first round of his fight against Breidis Prescott in 2008. In truth, the fact that the very light-hitting Malignaggi was able to mark Khan’s face and leave several welts in a fight that he lost handily might have raised even more concerns about the British champion’s durability.
The one factor that might dissuade Katsidis from ultimately accepting the fight against Khan is Khan’s size – particularly his height. The 5’7” Katsidis would be giving up three inches in height and five inches in reach to Khan, raising the possibility that the fight would be an extended exercise in Khan firing off jabs and lead rights while keeping his distance and out of range of Katsidis’s potentially potent punches.
While this could potentially be a big fight for Katsidis in terms of his career, it’s hardly a great match-up from an in-ring standpoint. It would appear that Katsidis would be much better off passing on the fight while waiting for the winner of the Marquez vs. Diaz fight to decide on whether to take him on or drop the WBO crown. The worst case option in this scenario would likely see Katsidis be able to face another candidate like Jorge Barrios or Anthony Peterson for the full title if either Marquez or Diaz vacates the crown rather than fight him.
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