Could be interesting, but think it's a bonehead move from Katsidas's people & a good one for Guzman.
Katsidas is a hell of a prospect - great power, pretty good handspeed & a relentless style of fighting - but inspite of the interim belt he's got he's still a prospect.
Still very raw & by far his best opponent was Graham Earl!
Think he's going have all kinds of trouble trying to deal with Guzman's speed & movement, & if he gets so frustrated that he starts charging in while leaving himself open, could possibly be stopped.
Another year or so, with a little seasoning, I think Katsidas could be a major force in boxing, but this is too early.
So it's Official?
There seems to be some conflict over who Guzman's facing next. I think Sycuan is a little pissy over the news leaking out before they had a chance to finalize everything and making the announcement themselves. But then, it's Golden Boy paying the bills these days - but whatever.
Anyway, Koba Gogaladze's name keeps coming up, as he is Guzman's mandatory. Guzman keeps running into situations where the division's best don't want to fight him. It happened at 122; he gave up that title, moved up, and Larios and Vasquez wound up facing each other a third time. He made a pit-stop at 126, waited forever for Scott Harrison to sober up before moving up to 130.
He beat Barrios for a belt... and can't secure a bigger fight despite the division running as deep as it doesn. Golden Boy is reluctant to have him fight Marquez or Barrera, the GBP-Top Rank feud prevents a Guzman-Pac fight and a Guzman-Valero fight is too much risk and not enough $$$ for either fighter at this point, which means that won't happen.
Beating Katsidis puts Joan in position to fight the Freitas-Diaz winner - but there's no guarantee that the winner actually follows through and fights him.
Guzman is quickly becoming a man without a country. I know a lot of cats don't care for his antics, but as a friend of Team Guzman, it pisses me off that he's unable to secure better fights - especially with as many promoters that have sunk their claws into him over the years.
Katsidis had an awesome fight with Earl. Though i think Guzman will outbox him and win in a UD there should be some exciting moments in this. Also the undercard with Chi and Larios should be exciting. Maybe this will get some good exposure for Guzman so he can get the fights at SuperFeatherWeight.
Guzman was a beast in the 122lbs division. At 130lbs he's all speed with less pop. This is evident by his lack of knockouts in recent years. Yet he was able to hurt a heavier Jorge Barrios in the 1st round. He is dangerous in the opening round for any opponent. Though if they survive the opening rounds, they still got his amazing hand speed and great boxing ability to contend with for the remainder of the bout. He's like a smaller Floyd in my opinion. :boxing:
Guzman is gonna box circles around Katsidis and beat him with his speed all night. This is the perfect opportunity for Guzman to get a strap at 135 and possibly unify against Juan Diaz or Freitas. That would be another great fight.:boxing:
i dont have much of a problem with katsidis taking this fight.
he's not in danger of being hurt. guzman hasnt ko'd n e one in the lower weights in years and katsidis is one of the hardest hitting light weights going around. he may get outclassed but he has a great shot at winning and he'll be getting exposure on US television against a highly rated opponent. as long as he doesnt get terribly dominated only good can come of this
katsidas was an underdog to earl, so this is a considerable step up though he was very impressive he should be a 3 to 1 underdog to guzman.... so ill throw some money on him and hope for the KO too
he wasn't underdog...they were pretty even in the betting odds. i don't think many people on here thought earl would win either (?)
katsidis got hurt by a semi-conscious earl. guzman is far more skilled and faster then earl but i don't know if his chin has ever been tested.
i think guzman will win by a wide UD, but i don't understand the logic of moving up to lightweight when there are much bigger fights at superfeatherweight...or is it that he's being avoided in his current weight division?
People are underestimating Katsidis, he has amazing power and is utterly relentless. This fight is certainly not a forgone conclusion although im still backing Guzman to decision him.
Guzman will not win by knockout, he hasn't knocked an opponent out for nearly three years at 122 to 130. I think guzman is an incredibly over-rated fighter and his ridiculous posing and taunting in the ring just makes me want to see him knocked unconcious.
katsidas was an underdog to earl, so this is a considerable step up though he was very impressive he should be a 3 to 1 underdog to guzman.... so ill throw some money on him and hope for the KO too
Is Guzman doing back down after the fight with Katsidis or is he going the vacate the 130 lb belt. Also, I think the Winner of Katsidis/Guzman should fight the winner of Freitas/Diaz.
Think of it this way, a highlight reel KO for Guzman. :boxing:
And Guzman will be making a name for himself in the UK with this win, cause im pretty sure Katsidis is well known over there.
I dont give Katsidis much of a chance of winning, let alone surviving. He was dropped and hurt badly by Graham Earl... nuff said :D
Guzman will not win by knockout, he hasn't knocked an opponent out for nearly three years at 122 to 130. I think guzman is an incredibly over-rated fighter and his ridiculous posing and taunting in the ring just makes me want to see him knocked unconcious.
mike's corner has to be the dumbest corner in the world for taking this fight. IDIOTS! they're going to ruin a perfectly good young kid by putting him in with guzman!
Think of it this way, a highlight reel KO for Guzman. :boxing:
And Guzman will be making a name for himself in the UK with this win, cause im pretty sure Katsidis is well known over there.
I dont give Katsidis much of a chance of winning, let alone surviving. He was dropped and hurt badly by Graham Earl... nuff said :D