By Jake Donovan
Assuming lightweight contenders Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis can stay healthy between now and Saturday night, it’s safe to say that this September will jump off to a much better start than was the case a year ago.
This time last year, HBO and Showtime both loaded up their September schedule, which was to serve as a welcome back after the usually mid-summer break. Instead, the sport was forced to endure the wrath of the injury big, which ran rampant through the sapphire month, knocking scheduled cards for the first three Saturdays following Labor Day.
Those fiending for boxing action but able to hold their breath without passing out were handsomely rewarded by month’s end. That’s when Kelly Pavlik peeled himself off of the canvas to rally back and knock out Jermain Taylor to claim the middleweight crown.
The instant classic was the first of three linear title matches in a span of ten weeks that boasted undefeated fighters on both sides of the billing. It was also among the year’s best fights, in fact voted the very best of 2007 by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
There stands a very good chance that come voting time, the 2008 ballot will include this weekend’s headlining act, when lightweights Juan Diaz (33-1, 17KO) and Michael Katsidis collide (23-1, 20KO) in Diaz’ hometown of Houston, Texas (Saturday, HBO, 10:15PM ET/PT).
It’s the first bout for both fighters since losing their “0” in separate bouts this past March. Oddly enough, they were first scheduled to square off earlier this year. A lot has changed between now and then: their records, title status and in Diaz’ case, who signed his checks.
The last part was what functionally killed plans for a March showdown between the two. Golden Boy Promotions won a purse bid in what was supposed to serve as a prelude to a future relationship together.
Don King, however, had other plans. He still had Diaz for one more fight, and first rights, last refusals on any fight in which he wasn’t the promoter of record. He decided that he would be the promoter of record for one more fight, and the opponent would be someone King had paper on rather than a member of the ever-growing Golden Boy Promotions stable.
That opponent became Nate Campbell, who just so happened to be a mandatory challenger for one of the three lightweight title belts Diaz possessed at the time.
King’s interference forced Katsidis to look elsewhere for his first major HBO showcase. When all was said and done, he was served the division’s linear champion in Joel Casamayor, a fitting alternate since the argument at the time was whether to recognize lineage (Casamayor) or the fighter who was doing the heavier lifting (Diaz) as the division’s true leader.
It became a moot point, at least as far as Diaz was concerned. The debate still rages on today, only now it’s choosing between Casamayor and Campbell, who put an emphatic end to Diaz’ title reign and undefeated streak with a throwback performance in Cancun, Mexico.
That Campbell had to settle for a split decision was irrelevant (and also terrible judging); the fact was that he now held the bargaining chips, and was well within reach of undisputed lightweight supremacy. Meanwhile, it would be back to the drawing board for Diaz.
Or so you would think.
It was with the Diaz win that Campbell decided his presence was required for what he hoped to be his next opponent in the winner of Casamayor-Katsidis. Little did he know it would be the beginning of a brutal reality check.
Casamayor had a turn-back-the-clock moment of his own, dropping Katsidis twice in the opening minute of the fight and seemingly well on his way to the best performance of his lengthy career. Only Katsidis began picking up steam from the fourth round on, dropping the Cuban along the way and held a narrow lead heading through nine rounds.
Speculation had already begun as to how a Katsidis-Campbell fight would play out as the live action still had three rounds to go. Casamayor had other ideas, catching Katsidis with a left hand as the Aussie was coming in, sending him to the deck for his third – and most vicious knockdown of the fight. Katsidis somehow peeled himself off the deck, but appeared to be in no condition to continue. Referee John Schlore decided to let him fight anyway, only to stop the bout seconds later after realizing Katsidis was no longer able to defend himself.
In the span of two weeks, two young, undefeated all-action lightweights seemingly on a collision course were upended in different ways, both by 36-year olds who now had a clear path to meet one another.
Casamayor-Campbell II for lightweight supremacy, while Diaz and Katsidis would be forced to rebuild, right?
Wrong.
When the smoke cleared, Casamayor and Campbell both agreed to fight on September 13 – just not against one another. A purse bid offering of more than $1.2 million wasn’t enough to entice the Cuban to meet up with an old foe, instead holding out for whatever Golden Boy had to offer.
No problem, said Campbell, who declared to bring forth the next in line. Regardless of the opponent, he had faith in his promoter Don King – “a real promoter who will actually go out there and promote with or without a TV date,” insisted Campbell, an indirect shot at Golden Boy, who had been accused by more than one source as a company who won’t make a move if a TV deal wasn’t already in place beforehand.
It may be true, but it doesn’t mean that Golden Boy still can’t get things done quicker than anyone else. Before Campbell knew who and where he would next fight, and even before Casamayor finalized a deal to face Juan Manuel Marquez, Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis knew their fate.
The writing was on the wall the moment Diaz finally signed with Golden Boy Promotions. Diaz couldn’t wait to sign with the Los Angeles-based firm, following a bitter split with Don King Productions that literally spilled over into the moments before the Campbell fight. He actually signed with Golden Boy a couple of years prior, only for manager Willie Savannah to renege on the deal and instead bring the student-athlete to King’s stable.
Even in suffering his first pro loss between then and now, the timing worked out in Diaz’ favor to now join Golden Boy. It gave time for Golden Boy to ink other notable lightweights, including Katsidis and Casamayor.
Initial plans called for another bout that appeared to be one fight too late – Casamayor-Diaz. Some stink was raised about Diaz just losing three belts yet still being next in line to face the linear champion; if nothing else, a slap in the face of his conqueror, Nate Campbell, who was still working out the kinks in negotiations for a mandatory title defense against Joan Guzman.
Fear of negative publicity was averted when Casamayor was surprisingly rejected as a comeback opponent of choice by Team Diaz. Fighting for the linear lightweight title was tempting, but they greater craved a fight the fans wouldn’t forget, especially for his first fight under the Golden Boy banner and his first homecoming in 3 ½ years.
A fight with Michael Katsidis certainly fits the bill, regardless of when it takes place. This time, nothing stood in its way. King couldn’t prevent it from happening. Not even wins by Casamayor and Campbell could prevent the inevitable collision.
Sure it would’ve been a bigger event had both remained unbeaten, and with an array of lightweight hardware at stake (three alphabet belts and the linear crown). But as was proven in the cases of Casamayor and Campbell, the bottom line for boxing fans and to the powers-to-be isn’t what they carry into the ring, or even whether or not their arms were raised in victory their last time out.
Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis carry into this fight nothing but pride, and perhaps a demon or two to exorcise. But it’s their fighting heart that always made this matchup so compelling, whereas a Casamayor-Campbell rematch, even for all of the lightweight marbles, could barely cause the networks to bat an eyelash.
It’s why their shoulders were tapped to kick off the final stretch of boxing as we know it in 2008, and why, no matter when they fight, it’s a matchup that will always be right on time.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .
