Katsidis Turns Down Funeka Fight On HBO

With Robert Guerrero out of his March 27 lightweight fight against Michael Katsidis because of his wife's serious illness, interim junior welterweight titlist Marcos Maidana's defense against Victor Cayo moves up to main event status on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" card at a site to be determined. The new co-feature isn't set yet, but the leading possibility is a rematch between Ali Funeka and Joan Guzman, who would meet for a vacant lightweight belt. Katsidis was offered Funeka, but he turned it down. Funeka pummeled Guzman when they met for the vacant belt on HBO in November, but it was ruled a draw in one of the most controversial decisions of 2009. Guzman's side is willing to take the fight. Gary Shaw, who co-promotes South Africa's Funeka, said he was waiting to hear back from Funeka's manager about accepting the bout. Funeka-Guzman II became possible when Rolando Reyes declined to face Funeka because he didn't want to go to South Africa under the terms of Branco Sports' winning purse bid. Once Reyes declined, the IBF moved to its next available contender, which was Guzman. Dan Rafael