By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com was advised that a rumored fight between WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan and lightweight Michael Katsidis is not likely to happen on July 31. Australian sources who are close to the Katsidis camp told BoxingScene that a fight of this nature will cost a lot of money to make.
The way it's being planned at the moment is for Khan to take a fight at the end of July in England and then return on an HBO televised card in the fall.
Katsidis made $412,000 for Saturday's three round drubbing of Kevin Mitchell in London. Following the win, the WBO ordered lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez [or Juan Diaz if he wins on July 31] to fight Katsidis or face being stripped.
If Katsidis moves up to a higher weight to fight the WBA champion, he is likely going to lose his WBO interim-title and/or his mandatory position to challenge the Marquez-Diaz winner, which is a more winnable opportunity. Katsidis has been chasing the fight with Marquez since last year.
A significant sum of money would be required to make Katsidis give up his WBO placement for a jump in weight against a big junior welterweight. Khan, with his 5'10 frame, 71-inch reach and superb boxing ability, would cause some serious issues for the 5'7 Katsidis with his 66-inch reach.
A more reasonably priced option for July would be a rematch with Breidis Prescott, who knocked Khan out in 54-seconds in 2008. Prescott won a keep-busy fight on Saturday's Khan-Malignaggi undercard. A Prescott rematch can be made at a fraction of the cost when compared to the estimated price tag of Katsidis.
