AFP
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Barely a month after the death of his older brother, Australian Michael Katsidis faces the biggest fight of his life on Saturday in a double world title showdown against Juan Manuel Marquez.
Katsidis decided to continue his Thailand-based training last month after the unexpected death of Stathi Katsidis, a 31-year-old Australian champion jockey from Brisbane.
"I will do this for Stathi, my family and myself," Katsidis said. "Stathi is inside me. We will fight this fight together. I know this is what he wants."
Katsidis, 27-2 with 22 knockouts, will face World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, 51-5 with one draw and 37 knockouts, in a possible launching pad fight for the Mexican.
Marquez and his promoters have talked up the possibility of a third fight against Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao, who won a 2008 split decision over Marquez after the two had fought to a draw in 2004.
The Asian star has talked down the idea of a third fight with a man who has not beaten him, but with unbeaten US star Floyd Mayweather facing legal charges and nixing an earlier fight bid, Marquez might be an attractive foe if he wins.
"This is going to be a very difficult fight," Marquez said. "I'm not taking anything for granted. I'm going to have to be at my best. We will give the fans a great show."
Marquez rebounded from moving up in weight and losing to Mayweather last year by decisioning former lightweight champion Juan Diaz last July.
"He?s one of the best in the world pound-for-pound," Katsidis said. "I?m ready for the challenge though. I don?t think he?ll be able to hold me off for 12 rounds."
Marquez, seven years older than his rival at age 37, has only three losses in the past 11 years, falling to Pacquiao, Mayweather and Indonesian unbeaten Chris John in 2006.
Katsidis suffered both career losses in 2008, being stopped by Cuban southpaw Joel Casamayor and losing a split decision to US veteran Diaz.
"Katsidis is a very aggressive fighter and has respectable power, but we're ready," Marquez said.
The card also includes undefeated American Andre Berto, 26-0 with 20 knockouts, defending his World Boxing Council welterweight title against Mexico's Freddy Hernandez, 29-1 with 20 knockouts.
It will be the fifth defense of the crown for Berto since claiming the vacant title by stopping Mexico's Miguel Angel Rodriguez in the seventh round in 2008. Hernandez has won 12 fights in a row over five years to set up his first world title bout.
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.
Source: google.com
Wednesday 24 November 2010
Pacquiao asserts himself as pay-per-view star -- USA Today
By Dave Skretta, The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Manny Pacquiao is not simply the best boxer in the world. He's also the sport's biggest box office attraction.
Pacquiao's comprehensive destruction of Antonio Margarito for a vacant junior middleweight title on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium generated at least 1.15 million buys and $64 million domestic revenue, according to figures announced Tuesday by HBO Sports.
Those numbers are expected to increase slightly once all the figures are counted, but Pacquiao already is assured of his third straight year with at least one fight breaking the 1 million mark.
"It wasn't even on the right-hand side of the computer spreadsheet," said HBO vice president Mark Taffet, whose job includes handling pay-per-view broadcasts, when asked whether the numbers exceeded his expectations. "It's an outstanding number."
Pacquiao's victory over Oscar De La Hoya in 2008 generated 1.25 million buys, and his knockout of Miguel Cotto last year did 1.2 million. Taffet said his last five fights combined have generated at least 5.1 million buys, putting Pacquiao on par with De La Hoya, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the biggest earners in pay-per-view history.
Of that group, the Filipino icon is the only non-American.
"He's become a world figure, that's what differentiates it from the superstars that preceded him," Taffet said. "And his coverage is not just in sports media. He's transcended sport, to the point where he's the first non-American to generate these kinds of numbers."
Pacquiao also generated 700,000 buys for a lopsided decision earlier this year over Joshua Clottey, a fighter who has virtually no name recognition beyond the most ardent boxing fans.
Those same fans are hoping the next fight for Pacquiao is against someone virtually everybody recognizes: Mayweather. The two sides have failed twice to reach an agreement on what could be the richest fight in boxing history, and now with Mayweather's legal trouble in Las Vegas, the matchup is looking increasingly unlikely for next year.
"Mayweather, it can't be compared to any other fight that can conceivably be made," said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, comparing the fight to the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight in 1971.
"That fight would be like the Ali-Frazier of our time. And you know, Ali-Frazier in 1971 was the biggest fight really of all time, at that point. The same thing would be said for Manny and Floyd this time, but you know, it takes two to make the fight."
Arum said he's flying to the Philippines in December to celebrate Pacquiao's birthday, and at that point plans to discuss potential opponents. But he conceded in a phone interview with The Associated Press late Tuesday that he's not optimistic about Mayweather for the spring.
"Manny is there, he wants to do the fight, and Floyd for whatever reason is not prepared to fight him, so we have to go on to the next best thing if Floyd remains unavailable," Arum said. "We'll see who's available and what the terms are and then we'll select an opponent. Hopefully it's Mayweather, but as the day goes by, it's not looking good."
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: usatoday.com
Pacquiao's comprehensive destruction of Antonio Margarito for a vacant junior middleweight title on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium generated at least 1.15 million buys and $64 million domestic revenue, according to figures announced Tuesday by HBO Sports.
Those numbers are expected to increase slightly once all the figures are counted, but Pacquiao already is assured of his third straight year with at least one fight breaking the 1 million mark.
"It wasn't even on the right-hand side of the computer spreadsheet," said HBO vice president Mark Taffet, whose job includes handling pay-per-view broadcasts, when asked whether the numbers exceeded his expectations. "It's an outstanding number."
Pacquiao's victory over Oscar De La Hoya in 2008 generated 1.25 million buys, and his knockout of Miguel Cotto last year did 1.2 million. Taffet said his last five fights combined have generated at least 5.1 million buys, putting Pacquiao on par with De La Hoya, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the biggest earners in pay-per-view history.
Of that group, the Filipino icon is the only non-American.
"He's become a world figure, that's what differentiates it from the superstars that preceded him," Taffet said. "And his coverage is not just in sports media. He's transcended sport, to the point where he's the first non-American to generate these kinds of numbers."
Pacquiao also generated 700,000 buys for a lopsided decision earlier this year over Joshua Clottey, a fighter who has virtually no name recognition beyond the most ardent boxing fans.
Those same fans are hoping the next fight for Pacquiao is against someone virtually everybody recognizes: Mayweather. The two sides have failed twice to reach an agreement on what could be the richest fight in boxing history, and now with Mayweather's legal trouble in Las Vegas, the matchup is looking increasingly unlikely for next year.
"Mayweather, it can't be compared to any other fight that can conceivably be made," said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, comparing the fight to the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight in 1971.
"That fight would be like the Ali-Frazier of our time. And you know, Ali-Frazier in 1971 was the biggest fight really of all time, at that point. The same thing would be said for Manny and Floyd this time, but you know, it takes two to make the fight."
Arum said he's flying to the Philippines in December to celebrate Pacquiao's birthday, and at that point plans to discuss potential opponents. But he conceded in a phone interview with The Associated Press late Tuesday that he's not optimistic about Mayweather for the spring.
"Manny is there, he wants to do the fight, and Floyd for whatever reason is not prepared to fight him, so we have to go on to the next best thing if Floyd remains unavailable," Arum said. "We'll see who's available and what the terms are and then we'll select an opponent. Hopefully it's Mayweather, but as the day goes by, it's not looking good."
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: usatoday.com
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