Is Katsidis for real?

I've heard all sorts of great things about Michael Katsidis.

He's supposed to be like Arturo Gatti.

He supposed to be a superstar.

He's supposed to be a legend.

Boxing is full of guys that were supposed to be something.

Every now and then a fighter comes along and grabs fans' attention with the way he fights. But I read tons of stuff about uber-prospect Andy Lee before watching him get drubbed by Brian Vera. To be fair, I like Vera's chances at becoming a legit pro, but Lee wasn't supposed to lose to Vera.

Of course, Katsidis is much further along than Andy Lee in his career. He's 27 years old titlist and fighting for the lightweight championship of the world. He's beaten a slew of decent fighters, but he hasn't faced anything like Casaymayor.

Vegas likes Katsidis.

Australia's favorite fighter is listed as a favorite to dethrone champ Joel Casamayor in tonights clash on HBO. Do they know something, or they just caught up in the hype?

Hey, I'm all about hype, but I'd rather it be backed up with something tangible. Honestly, I've never seen Michael Katsidis fight, but I'm looking quite forward to it. Will he be a legit superstar, or will veteran champ Casamayor just outclass him?

I can't wait to find out.

Official Fight Prediction 3/15

My initial thought on the Pacquiao-Marquez rematch was that Pacquiao would win via split decision. I said as much in my preview of the fight posted last week.

I've changed my mind.

Manny Pacquiao will win the fight, but I see it being by a fairly wide margin. Pacquiao will dominate the fight with his agression, but this time he'll also be able to box a bit more when he needs to in order to mix it up. This will keep Marquez from being able to figure Pacquiao out like he did in the last fight.

In any event, I'm looking forward to the fight.

Who's really 'The Greatest'?

TOP FIVE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS OF ALL TIME

1. Joe Louis (55-3): Sorry, Dad. Joe Louis has to be considered the greatest heavyweight of all time. He wasted no movements, threw brilliant combinations and he was a devastating puncher. Louis recorded 25 straight title defenses, a record that will probably never be broken. He also won the biggest fight in history, defeating Max Schmelling in 1938 at Yankee Stadium in front of over 70,000 people. With the win, Louis helped derail Nazi Germany's claim of superiority and help bring parts of white and black America together.

2. Muhammad Ali (56-5): Probably the most celebrated athlete of all time, the self-proclaimed "greatest of all time" comes pretty close to actually being the greatest. Ali won the heavyweight title 3 times, a record that held until Evander Holyfield won it 4 times. Ali defeated several high profile greats, including Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Sonny Liston. If there is anyone who truly rivals Louis' greatness, it is Ali, but Louis gets him by an eye lash. No matter, a fight between the 2 in their primes would be hard to call. (But, I'll take Louis!)

3. Jack Johnson (100-14-14): Jack Johnson was the first black heavyweight champion, and he has gained famed recently due to the Ken Burns documentary entitled 'Unforgivable Blackness'. Johnson was great at parrying his opponent's shots and countering with his own powerful blows. Johnson was involved in the 2nd most important heavyweight title fight of all time in his defeat of James J. Jeffries, who had come out of retirement to prove "that a white man is better than a Negro". Thankfully, Johnson won by TKO in the 15 round. Nat Fleisher, former editor of The Ring Magazine, considered Johnson the greatest he ever saw.

4. Rocky Marciano (49-0): The only heavyweight champion to ever retire undefeated, Marciano was a brilliant puncher. He had power in both hands and used a brutal bob-n-weave attack to wear down opponents. Marciano was also a vastly underrated defensive fighter, always able to stay out of harms way. Marciano is often given too little respect for his perfect record, something that will probably change over time. It is doubtful that another champ will eclipse his 49-0 mark.

5. Evander Holyfield (42-9-2): Should Holyfield's greatness be discounted because he continues to fight on past his prime? Of course not. Evander Holyfield is the only man to win the heavyweight championship 4 times (and counting). A blown up cruiserweight, Holyfield's heart is undisputed. He was an all-action fighter with a granite chin. He defeated the greatest fighters of his era including Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe, and fought off hard-charging vets George Forman and Larry Holmes. Also, go back and rescore the 2nd Lewis fight and tell me Holyfield didn't win. His wins over Mike Tyson and his epic battles with Riddick Bowe allow Holyfield to round out the top 5.

What's yours?

Stay tuned for 6-10!

Weekend Wrap

Hey fight fans, just a quick update.

Last night was a great night in boxing. Heavyweight Samuel Peter moved one step closer to helping end this heavyweight mess once and for all by capturing the WBC belt from a game but outmatched Oleg Maskaev by a 6th round knockout. Both men were able to land good blows, but Peter proved to be too powerful for the aging Oleg.

Note to other heavyweights: watch out for Samuel Peter.

Peter has spent 16 months in the gym for this fight and it looks to have done him some good. Peter is moving well and looks much more polished than he did the first time he faced Wladimir Klitschko.

Let's hope the 2 can meet again to crown an undisputed champion.

The undercard was great, too. Undefeated Juan Diaz and Nate Campbell fought an epic lightweight bout for some alphabet belts. Campbell stood toe-to-toe with Diaz and out worked the younger fighter to capture his first title belt.

Congrats to Nate "The Galaxy Warrior" Campbell for a tremendous effort and a career defining win. He has always been one of my favorite fighters and I'll gladly take the hit on my prediction record.

Finally, David Haye followed in the footsteps of his idol Evander Holyfield by unifying the cruiserweight championship. Haye knocked out Enzo Macarreneli is the 2nd round. Haye plans on making a move to the heavyweight division.

Haye:

"There's a lot of talking about Samuel Peter and the fact that he was the saviour (of heavyweight boxing), then he fought that big chump (Jameel) McCline and got put over by him a few times. I thought he lost the fight. The division is wide open but, even if it wasn't, I'm just going out to fight as many people as I can. I plan to fight regularly and work my way up the rankings and win those titles."

Is this what the heavyweight division needs?

Anyways, after this weekend, my official prediction record goes to 3-3. I predicted the Sam Peter KO of Oleg Maskaev but thought Diaz would pick up the win against Campbell.

Official Fight Predictions for 3/8

I don't have a lot of time here so I'll get to the skinny. Samuel Peter will beat Oleg Maskaev by late-round KO, and Juan Diaz will get the decision versus Nate Campbell. Both of these fights will be on HBO and both will be fantastic.

Oh, and I got a new job so congrats to me.

McCarson Endorses McCain

Can just anyone endorse presidential candidates these days?

I'm driving down the freeway listening to a popular morning radio show in Houston and an unnamed actor calls the show to let everyone know why he thinks everyone should vote for Barack Obama. Keep in mind this person is paid for pretending to be someone else.

Huh?

Why should I care what some actor I don't know thinks about Barack Obama?!

In that same spirit, I'd like everyone to know that I'm fully endorsing Senator John McCain as the next president of the United States.

I'm not sure why you should care about what I think, but just in case you do I'll let you know.

First, you should know that I consider myself neither Republican or Democrat. I equally abhor both sides most of the time. However, in full disclosure you should know that I have never voted for any Republican candidate in any other election until my recent voting in the Texas Primary.

In fairness, I consider that fact exclusive to who was involved in each race, rather than general partisan ideology. Nonetheless, I can see no other presidential candidate fit to lead the country right now more than John McCain.

John McCain has the experience we need in a president. He's pro-life, against raising taxes and he's a huge boxing fan. Heck, I was re-watching the Mayweather-De La Hoya fight the other day and guess who was sitting in the front row?!

Nevertheless, the greatest thing about Mr. McCain is his willingness to stand up to both parties and think and act on his own.

Rush Limbaugh and the other uber-Conservative talk radio freaks hate John McCain. They hate him because he refuses to bow down to the high Conservative counsel they think they preside over. They hate him because he thins for himself.

John McCain is his own man. He listens. He thinks. He acts. That is exactly the kind of president I want. I don't want someone in the White House because he gives good speeches or because of who her husband is.

So vote for John McCain in November, but don't do it because anyone else tells you to do it. Do it because he's the right choice at the right time.

(And if you just have to vote the other way, vote for Hillary:)

Nice Weekend for Boxing Fans

Oh, it was a glorious weekend in boxing.

Thanks to some great match making, and Showtime's airing of the 3rd fight of arguably the greatest fight trilogy ever, fight fans were able to see some nice action this week.

First off, Friday night saw the continuation of a great and underrated boxing career. Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero fought off a game but overmatched Jason Litzau to retain his IBF featherweight championship.

Guerrero used a brutally aggressive style to punch his way in close to Litzau, who seemingly had no answer for the constant pressure. Guerro took some punishment himself in the execution of his plan, but it was Litzau who ultimately took the brunt of the attack on the chin. He was visibly shaken up after being knocked out in the 8th round and looked to be in need of medical attention.

Guerrero had this to say about his next fight: "There are a lot of big fights out there. If the winner of Vazquez-Marquez wants to move up, I would fight either of them. I am ready to fight now."

And the winner of that fight was the always game Israel Vazquez. Vazquez looked to be in trouble through the first 5 rounds of this epic showdown with challenger Rafael Marquez, but it was apparent who was the bigger man as the fight wore on.

If you missed this fight, then shame on you. It was a truly classic battle and has to be early favorite for fight of the year. Israel Vazquez retained his WBC super bantamweight title by out punching former champ Rafael Marquez over 12 fast-paced, brutal rounds.

The final round was the most telling part of the fight. Needing a big round, Vasquez let his hands loose and out punched Marquez, who inexplicably was just trying to hold on until the bell. Vasquez was able to land some fierce shots that threw Marquez into the corner and the referee correctly called it a knockdown (because only the roped held Marquez from hitting the deck).

It proved to be critical in the split decision. One judge had the fight 114-111 Marquez, while the other 2 had it 114-111 and 113-112 for Vazquez. If Vazquez had not been able to get the knockdown in the 12th, or if Marquez had not been deducted a point for a low blow in one of the middle rounds, the fight would have been declared a draw.

In any event, boxing fans were treated to great action this weekend and reminded why boxing is truly the greatest of sports.