It was said that there would be fireworks at the Wembley Arena on Saturday night and Frank Warren certainly did not disappoint. Headlining the bill was George Groves’ British and Commonwealth super middleweight defence in which he dominated former British champion Paul Smith with a crushing right handed hay maker in the second round of the fight after being rocked himself at the end of the first.
However this was somewhat overshadowed by the spectacular undercard, firstly saw the Olympian Billy Joe Saunders win a tough 10 round decision to secure the middleweight southern area championship over the champion Gary Boulden. Saunders boxed beautifully in his first outing over the full 10 rounds, he won almost every round with the referee scoring the fight 99-92. Boulden was game but could not compete with Saunders power, being noticeably shook in the fourth round with only his exceptional fitness pulling him through. The pattern of the fight was mainly Billy Joe stalking his man, with Boulden on the back foot trying to keep Saunders at a distance. Each round was competative and Boulden played to the crown in a bid to intimidate his opponent. However the gulf in class was clear and after a series of body shots and uppercuts that rocked the champion it was Billy Joe Saunders who took the belt home.
The chief support to Groves’ defence was the Interim Lightweight title between former super featherweight champion Ricky Burns and ‘The Warrior’ Michael Katsidis. This intriguing match up had (on paper) Katsidis as a heavy favourite, many people viewed Burns as too soft a puncher to keep the Australian off. The common view was that if Katsidis could tag Burns then it would be game over, Martinez had put him down in the first round of his title fight and that was at super featherweight, so what chance did he have against a fully fledged lightweight ?
As the fight commenced it was fair to say I was busy writing my get well card for Ricky Burns. However then something amazing happened, it was the Scotsman who took charge. Burns looked superb as he worked behind a stiff, sharp jab keeping the centre of the ring. At times he would back onto the ropes allowing Katsidis to come forward but the Australian could not breach the tight defence of Burns who would move off again at will. Suprisingly this was the pattern of the first four rounds and it’s fair to say that at this point Katsidis looked far from his prime. The tide began to turn in the fifth as the Warrior’s relentless pressure looked to have rattled burns who had noticeably started to neglect his jab. It looked as though Katsidis was finally getting into his stride although it was his face rather than Burns’ that appeared to be marked up. After worrying times for Burns in the middle rounds he found a second wind and reverted back to the spearing jab that allowed him to dictate the pace of the fight. Katsidis came on strong in the final two rounds but it was clear to all watching the fight that Ricky Burns had done enough. He boxed superbly and is certainly on the level of the other champions in the division, however that was not a prime Katsidis
It is always sad to see a fighter of Michael Katsidis calibre get dominated especially by a fighter moving up from a lower weight. He would be brave as always but this time that was not enough. Constantly coming forward but lacking the sharpness and ferocious accuracy that we saw when he conquered Graham Earl and Kevin Mitchell I think it’s fair to say that the warrior style of this pressure fighter has taken it’s toll on the Australian. The two savage beatings by Guerro and Marquez appear to have had a lasting impact. I would like to see Michael have a home coming fight in his native country before hanging up his gloves. He has operated at a far too elite level to become a stepping stone for up and comers. Let him be remembered as the awesome fighting force he is rather than a washed up eight round fighter five years down the line.
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