Casamayor stops Katsidis in classic!

March 24, 2008

By Francisco Salazar and Edgar Gonzalez at ringside
Photos by Big Joe Miranda

Whoever has been praying to the boxing Gods to revive a so-called dying sport have been rewarded with a month full of action that can only be described as phenomenal.

As if all of the action-packed excitement from earlier this month has not been enough for one to handle, fight fans witnessed the lightweight technician and former two-division world champion, Joel Casamayor as he dug down deep and displayed his power over the hard-hitting and highly-regarded Michael Katsidis.

Casamayor shook off a sixth round knockdown to score a spectacular tenth round stoppage over Katsidis before approximately 1,000 fans at the Morongo Casino Resort in Cabazon, CA. With the victory, Casamayor also captured the WBO interim lightweight title as he added another world championship to his already impressive resume.

The main event headlined a ten bout card entitled, “Desert Storm” which was presented by Golden Boy Promotions.

Earlier this month Israel Vazquez (43-4, 31 KOs) won a spectacular twelve round split-decision over Rafael Marquez (37-5, 33 KOs) in the third fight of their historic trilogy. Last Saturday Manny Pacquiao (46-3-2, 35 KOs) won a very close split-decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in a fight that left fans begging for one more to take place.

On this night it was Casamayor and Katsidis that gave fight fans another reason to fall in love with their sport as they both put their heart and determination on display. Casamayor had entered the fight coming off of a split-decision victory over Jose Armando Santa Cruz (25-3, 14 KOs) back in October in a contest that many members of the media felt that Santa Cruz deserved to win.

Katsidis had won the “interim” belt with a stoppage victory over Graham Earl (25-3, 12 KOs) in February of last year. He would only defend that very title just one time in a fight that would see him win a twelve round decision over Czar Amonsot (18-3-1, 10 KOs) back in July.

After both fighters entered the ring and had an impromptu face-off, it appeared as though Casamayor was going to make it a short night when he scored two knockdowns in the opening minute of the first round.

A short left cross to the head had Katsidis down just thirty seconds into the round. Just a short time later, a right hand connected to the head of Katsidis and dropped him once again to the canvas. Showing his toughness and determination to continue, Katsidis was able to survive the round.

Katsidis pressured his opponent and at times rushed in hoping to land right hands to the head of Casamayor. In a clear display of his veteran skills and agility, Casamayor would step to one side and easily counter Katsidis as his movement continued to give him problems.

Just when it looked as though Casamayor would easily box his way to a decision, Katsidis caught him with a right-left combination that shook the foundation of his opponent. Always the tough competitor, Casamayor fought his way back. He was slowed down as Katsidis increased his punch output.

Katsidis was rewarded for his pressure in the sixth round as he scored a four-punch combination that dropped Casamayor through the ropes and onto the canvas. Casamayor got up and stepped through the ropes and was subsequently bombarded with an all-out assault by Katsidis until the bell sounded.

“Katsidis does not hit that hard. The only thing about him is that he fights with a lot of pressure,” analyzed Casamayor after the fight.

Katsidis continued to dominate during the seventh and eighth rounds. He kept the pressure on Casamayor and had him going backwards during most exchanges as he continuously landed right hands to the head.

Casamayor would then dig himself yet another hole as referee Jon Schorle deducted a point away from Casamayor for a low blow in the ninth round. Casamayor protested the point deduction as he claimed that the punch was n the beltline.

Surprisingly Katsidis went for broke in the tenth round as he charged out aggressively and threw wild shots. Casamayor landed a well-placed counter left cross to the head of Katsidis that dropped him to the canvas.

Katsidis got up on wobbly legs but referee Schorle allowed the bout to continue. Casamayor, smelling blood like a shark in the ocean, went right after Katsidis and landed a three-punch combination that culminated with a right hand to the noggin of Katsidis. This flurry caused Katsidis to slump against the ropes and prompted Schorle to stop the fight at thirty seconds of the round.

Entering the tenth, two judges had Katsidis ahead by scores of 84-83, while the other had Casamayor up 85-82. FightNews had seen the fight 84-83 in favor of Katsidis.

Casamayor landed 166 out of 519 total punches, with Katsidis landing only 144 out of 468 total punches. Katsidis threw 391 power punches and landed with 122 of them. Casamayor landed 105 out of 279 power punches.

After the bout, Casamayor explained that he is now the king of the lightweight division, something that newly-crowned WBA and IBF champion Nate Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KOs) will beg to differ.

“I started out like always, very smart and clever,” said Casamayor, who won a Gold medal for Cuba before defecting to the United States before the start of the 1996 Olympic games. “Katsidis is a good fighter, but he doesn’t hit hard. After I was knocked down, my corner told me to relax. They told me that I had him hurt and that I can knock him out.”

“I proved that I am the best at 135 pounds. I want big purses and big fights.”

Asked about fighting Nate Campbell, Casamayor jabbed at Campbell.

“Nate Campbell? Who is Nate Campbell? I said I want to fight the best fighters out there. I am the God of boxing. I proved that I am the best. I want Barrera and Pacquiao.”

Katsidis was humble in defeat.

“What can I say? I did my best tonight,” said a solemn Katsidis, who is only 27 years of age. “Age was wasted on youth tonight. I stuck to my game plan. I got excited and I went for it at the end. I threw it all out the window. I will be back.”

Casamayor, from Miramar, FL by way of Guantanamo, Cuba, improves to (36-3-1, 22 KOs). Katsidis, from Toowoomba, Australia, falls to (23-1, 20 KOs). – Francisco Salazar

Andrade Stops Stieglitz, Bute Next?

In an excellent and exciting co-feature attraction, Librado Andrade (27-1, 21 KOs) scored quite possibly the biggest victory of his career since he stopped Tito Mendoza back in the summer of 2004 to then capture the vacant WBO and NABO title belts. Andrade took the fight to his game challenger, Robert Stieglitz (31-2, 19 KOs) of Magdeburg, Germany and scored an eighth round TKO. Time of the stoppage was at 2:53 as Andrade landed a barrage of punches on Stieglitz causing referee Ray Corona to call a halt to the bout. The victory makes Andrade the mandatory #1 contender for undefeated IBF title holder Lucian Bute (22-0, 18 KOs).

The bout began with an explosive exchange of fireworks from both Andrade and Stieglitz. Towards the end of the second round, Andrade connected with an impressive uppercut that caused Stieglitz to bleed from his nose and left eye.

Stieglitz continued to bleed heavily throughout the remainder of the fight. The sight of blood caused Stieglitz to become more aggressive as he began to realize that he was losing the fight. He many times was able to effectively counter Andrade as he landed well scoring with a right hook that kept Stieglitz in the fight.

Andrade displayed a strong chin as he was able to withstand some powerful shots from his German challenger and still had the resolve to continue trading punches when beneficial and tie up Stieglitz whenever he charged in.

Andrade went to work on the body of his opponent and then was able to follow up with a straight right hand that continued to find its mark as the battle continued into the sixth round. Stieglitz began showing signs that the punishment from Andrade was taking its toll. The body attack from Andrade seemed to take the steam out of his opponent’s offensive attack.

By round eight, many fight fans in attendance could sense that a stoppage was near as Andrade was able to land three and four punch combinations at will on Stieglitz. To his credit, Stieglitz worked hard to hang on during the middle of the round as Andrade fired at will, sensing that he had victory within his grasp. He was able to take advantage of the situation by releasing a desert storm of punches on Stieglitz with him backed into the corner. Stieglitz took to many punches without firing back and all but lost his ability to defend himself. Referee Ray Corona then stepped in and stopped the fight at 2:53.

"That guy was top condition,” said Andrade after the fight. "I was afraid because he was in shape and I thought he was going to continue to box me."

"I'm the only Mexican in this division and I don't want to let my fellow Mexicans down."

"I am really upset. It was a close fight. It was a lucky punch but the referee stopped It." said Stieglitz

All three judges had Andrade winning 69-64 twice and 68-65 prior to the TKO win. This marks the third consecutive victory for Andrade by stoppage since he suffered his lone professional defeat at the hands of former unified WBC and WBA super middleweight title holder, Mikkel Kessler (39-1, 29 KOs). – Edgar Gonzalez

Dib Gets by Vargas!

Unbeaten super featherweight Billy Dib narrowly won a ten round split decision victory over Edgar Vargas.

Dib was the quicker and flashier fighter as he boxed circles around Vargas in the first round. Vargas, a notoriously slow starter, would not get discouraged and was patient in the early going.

To say that Dib’s style was awkward was an understatement. At times, he countered effectively to the head of Vargas, however he looked like former world champion Prince Naseem Hamed (36-1, 31 KOs) when he would throw punches from awkward angles.

He would get warned repeatedly by referee David Mendoza for violations from low blows while holding Vargas behind the head and hitting him.

Still, Vargas pressed the action and would land left crosses to the head and body of Dib. He landed well to the body with right hooks as Dib threw punches. He would allow Vargas to come in and countered to his head and body. Dib was able to catch Vargas with uppercuts to the head as well.

In the fifth, Dib was penalized a point for an obvious low blow. After Vargas took time to recover, he continued to score to the head and body, making it a 10-8 round in his favor.

The action slowed down as the fight was heading towards the end. Dib attempted look for openings as Vargas now looked to counter to the head and body.

Both fighters landed hard shots in the ninth round. Dib hurt Vargas with an accumulation, chasing after him as Vargas backed up towards the ropes. Suddenly, Vargas caught Dib with two power shots to the head, momentarily stopping Dib in his tracks.

Vargas slowed down considerably in the final round as Dib was the fresher fighter of the two. Dib looked for the knockout but the tough Vargas did enough to hold off Dib.

One judge scored the bout 95-94 in favor of Vargas, but was overruled by the remaining two judges who scored it 95-94 for Dib. FightNews scored the bout 96-93 in favor of Dib.

Dib from Sydney, Australia improves to a perfect (18-0, 9 KOs). Vargas, from Santa Ana, CA, falls to (11-4, 1 KO). – Francisco Salazar

Velasquez Decisions Sarabia!

Featherweight Carlos Velasquez won a hard-fought six round unanimous decision over Manuel Sarabia.

Sarabia was not just an opponent, as he came to fight and took the action straight at Velasquez. Despite Velasquez having won all of his previous bouts by knockout, Sarabia was not in danger of getting stopped.

Sarabia worked the body and attempted to outbox Velasquez. Velasquez was much faster however and would beat Sarabia to the punch most of the time during the bout.

Velasquez complimented his numerous combinations with his speed as he connected with left hooks and straight right hands to the face. He momentarily stunned Sarabia with a right hand in the fourth round, but was not able to follow up as Sarabia fought back.

Sarabia’s best round was in the fifth as he was able to land right hands on top of Velasquez’ jab. Sarabia countered effectively by working the body as well. The late rally by Sarabia was short-lived as Velasquez finished strong in the sixth round. Velasquez’ punch output increased as Sarabia began to slow down.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of Velasquez with scores of 60-54, 60-54, and 59-55. FightNews scored the bout 59-55 in favor of Velasquez.

Velasquez from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico improves to (7-0, 6 KOs). Sarabia from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico falls to (16-23-9, 10 KOs). – Fransisco Salazar

Velasquez decisions Bernal!

Featherweight Juan Velasquez won a sloppy four round unanimous decision over Tomas Bernal.

Both fighters would tie up numerous times during the bout. Bernal would wing wild punches that caught Velasquez on occasion. Velasquez could have boxed more but instead tried to go for the knockout.

Velasquez was the more effective fighter as he landed the harder punches. He pressed the action by landing thudding body shots on the inside.

All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Velasquez.

Velasquez, from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, goes to (7-0, 4 KOs). Bernal from Guerrero, Mexico falls to (3-5-2, 2 KOs). – Francisco Salazar

Rodela Decisions Gamboa!

Lightweight David Rodela pounded out a hard-fought six round majority decision victory over Julio Gamboa.

Both fighters had their moments, but it was Rodela who was the busier and more effective fighter on the inside.

One judge scored the bout even at 57-57, while the other two judges scored the bout 60-54 and 59-55 in favor of Rodela. FightNews scored the bout 58-56 in favor of Rodela.

Rodela from Oxnard, CA, improves (8-1-2, 4 KOs). Gamboa from Managua, Nicaragua, falls to (28-12-2, 11 KOs). – Francisco Salazar

Mitchell – Morales Draw!

Heavyweights Seth Mitchell and Alvaro Morales fought to a four round split-decision draw, with both fighters remaining unbeaten.

One judge had each fighter winning 39-37, with the third judge scoring it 38-38. Fightnews.com scored the bout 38-38.

Mitchell from Brandywine, MD goes to (2-0-1, 1 KO). Morales from Las Vegas, NV gets his fourth draw in six fights (2-0-4). – Francisco Salazar

In Other Action:

Daniel Jacobs (3-0 3KO's) scored a quick TKO victory over Matt Palmer (2-1) from Billings, MT. Jacobs sent Palmer to the canvas twice in the first round before referee Ray Corona had seen enough and stopped the fight just 2:43 seconds into the first stanza.

Carlos Garcia (2-0, 2 KOs) won his second professional fight over the winless Raymundo Inda (0-1) after referee David Mendoza stopped the fight after only 53 seconds.

Carlos Tangrago (1-0) won his pro debut via a unanimous decision against Sergio Ramirez (0-1) from Lancaster, CA. Scores were 39-37 twice and 40-36. – Edgar Gonzalez

Notes from Outside the Ropes:

Multiple Division World Champion and boxing legend Bernard Hopkins, welterweight contender Shane Mosley, lightweight champion Nate Campbell, trainer Freddie Roach, Victor Ortiz, and prospect Michael Franco were all at ringside at the event.

HBO’s Boxing After Dark team of Bob Papa, Max Kellerman, and former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis called the action from ringside.

Ring announcer was the legendary Bruce Buffer.