Popular boxer Michael Katsidis has recruited big names Jeff Fenech and Vlad Warton in a new-look team intended to regalvanise his career.

Katsidis ended his long-term partnership with trainer and manager Brendon Smith following his last-fight loss to Scotland’s Ricky Burns last month.

The former WBO interim lightweight champion will no longer prepare for fights in Thailand as he has for several years and will train close to his home and family in the United States.

The 31-year-old Katsidis (28-5, 23 KOs) still has to settle on a promoter and fulltime trainer after doing some work at the gym of famous trainer Freddie Roach in California.

He was excited by ideas generated in meetings with former triple world champion and trainer Fenech and promoter Warton.

“It’s about getting the best performance out of me and being able to actually bring those world titles home,” Katsidis said.

“These people (Fenech and Warton) have been there and they are the ones that can make it happen.

“It won’t be long before I know whether or not these two can make things happen and if they can’t and it looks like it’s not going to happen, I’d be very surprised.”

Fenech said he thought there were a few adjustments he could make to make big-punching Katsidis a better fighter.

“I’d come over here (to America) and help him get ready for his fights,” Fenech said.

Warton helped establish the MMA XPlosion organisation after spending several years as promoter of Australia’s former undisputed light welterweight world champion Kostya Tszyu.

“I look at acting as a manager-adviser (to Katsidis), which I’ve got plenty of experience with and delivering him the most out of what’s left of his career,” Warton said.

Katsidis wants to fight again by early April at the latest.

He hasn’t ruled out accepting an offer to fight famous Mexican Erik Morales, the WBC light welterweight champion.

“That would be a great fight. It suits me to a tee and at 140 pounds I’m a lot stronger, I can hit,” Katsidis said.

He didn’t want to dwell on his split with Smith, preferring to look to the future.

Smith said he was proud of what he had achieved with Katsidis and wished him luck for the future.

“I’d just like to see him succeed and have a happy life,” Smith said.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/boxing/rocky-has-guard-up-over-future-20111208-1olhq.html?skin=text-only

Here he goes again but this time – for the first time – it’s on his own. Speaking from his new training base in Hollywood, lightweight slugger Michael Katsidis tells Phil Lutton about navigating the murky waters of finding a new manager and why he’s no longer content to be the ‘perfect opponent’.

If there’s one piece of information you need to know about Michael Katsidis, it’s that he does things the hard way. The only short cut he would ever consider would be punching his way through a wall if it was too far to get to a door.

He comes from a working class background and fights the fights of a working class fighter; relentlessly chugging forward, unrelenting pressure powered by deep wells of courage. Sometimes, they’ve been too deep for his own good.

All of this makes Hollywood an unlikely new home for the kid from the Darling Downs. But after some heavy losses in the ring and even heavier in life, where he lost his best mate and brother Stathi, you can forgive Katsidis for indulging in some overdue attention.

“It’s actually quite enjoyable. It’s fun to be fussed about a little bit,” Katsidis said of his new surroundings, from where he hopes to relaunch a bright career that has started to lose its way.

In bouts of violent attrition over the years, Katsidis had found himself to be the last one standing. On most occasions, that was good enough. But of late, Katsidis the Great has found himself becoming Katsidis the Fairly Decent.

The matador was back to slaying the bull.

Promotors love his fights because they are like sitting at a safe distance while watching a fireworks factory explode. The only collateral damage for the men making the real money were the fighters delivering the pyrotechnics.

When he was winning, like he did in his one-sided demolition of Kevin Mitchell in London in 2010, the formula looked sound enough. When the decisions started going the other way, like they did against Juan Manuel Marquez, Robert Guerrero and recently, when he was picked off by Scotsman Ricky Burns, it became clear the Katsidis cocktail needed to be shaken up.

Last month, he parted ways with long-time manager Brendon Smith, who has returned to the pair’s hometown of Toowoomba to manage other young prospects after 20 years in charge of his former interim lightweight champion.

Katsidis then moved to train fulltime in the US, where he is working among the stars at Freddie Roach’s famous Wild Card Boxing Club in LA, knocking around bags with the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan and double-figure world champion turned promoter, Oscar De La Hoya.

Promoters are scrambling for his signature. Trainers and managers are pressing him to make them part of his team. And all of a sudden, Katsidis the fighter needs to become Katsidis the businessman as he tries to find one of the good guys in a sport hardly known for its honest accounting and scrupulous ethics.

“I do have to be very careful. While it’s all fun and I’m enjoying it, I really am going to be careful,” Katsidis said.

“There’s just a big move and there’s a lot of managers circling at the moment, a lot of promoters, because basically everyone knows there’s a HBO date next year with my name on it.

“It’s just a really careful process at the moment in deciding who exactly I go with. Ultimately, it’s a major and probably final decision I’ll make in my boxing career. I’m in the final phase now and trying to make the most of it.”

Katsidis and Smith parted on good terms, as you would expect from close friends who shared a long and mostly successful partnership. But it’s clear the 31-year-old is loving the chance to have more say in his future.

He has spoken with De La Hoya’s Golden Boy promotions, while companies like Top Rank and Gary Shaw Productions are also interested in doing some deals. Even on a losing streak, Katsidis is still mandatory viewing on a Vegas pay-per-view card.

“As far as managers, there’s a lot of them out there. It’s just being able to pick the right one. A lot of the managers are tied in to specific promotors. It’s hard to find someone that you know,” Katsidis said.

“It’s better to deal with the devil you know sometimes. That’s the business that it is – the brutality business. How do you find a good place in this business? It’s a hard task.”

Already, Katsidis is exercising the freedom you get from being your own man, putting the kybosh on a prospective date with WBC light welterweight champion Erik Morales in the New Year.

It’s precisely the type of fight he would have been expected to take in the past; one which gave punters a thunderous confrontation, at the physical expense of both men, but one Morales would be favourite to win.

As the gatekeeper to a division, Katsidis would get a payday, while Morales would get the cash and the kudos of beating a dangerous opponent never short on fire and brimstone. But for Katsidis, taking this route too often has only led to dead ends. Admirers, and dead ends.

This time, Katsidis has taken a step back to assess his options. After looking strong and sharp at 140 pounds in beating Mexican Michael Lozada on the Gold Coast earlier in the year, Katsidis puzzled some fans when he retreated to lightweight against Burns in a bout where he looked flat and exhausted, losing a unanimous decision.

“I jumped up and down straight away. I told them I don’t want to be an opponent for anyone,” Katsidis said of the proposed Morales bout.

“I know there’s a date later on in the year where I can get set for it, prove myself at 140 and rather than just be an opponent, it will be something the fans will appreciate.

“You can’t come off a loss and go straight into a world title fight. To me, that’s saying you’re just going to be an opponent.”

With his two-year-old daughter Kalia Rose becoming more of a part of his life every day, Katsidis knows he simply can’t take the kind of beatings dished out by the likes of Marquez, who recently lost a controversial decision against Pacquiao.

“It’s a dangerous game. I wouldn’t be able to string a conversation together if I was going to take on any more of those fights. That’s not how it’s going to be,” Katsidis said.

“Pretty much as soon as my contract expired in Australia, they thought I was there for the taking. Fortunately, I have some people interested in me and I can weigh up the best offers for me.”

The issue now for Katsidis is trying to redefine himself as a fighter so deep into his career. He strongly believes he doesn’t need to change a great deal in his approach but has already learned some defensive tricks from Roach and his extensive team of expert trainers.

When he returns to action, he says, it will be these refinements that can once again make him a force at the lighter weights, not just a step-up guy. Exciting? Always. But Katsidis would rather just start winning, rather than feel obliged to take a pounding, or give one out, in the name of entertainment.

“I’m starting to enjoy my boxing over here. As you know, it’s been a rough road. But I’m right amongst it all here in Hollywood. There’s a guy here for every specific job – one guy works on your defence, one guy works on your strength and conditioning. It’s just solely boxing over here and it’s great to be amongst it,” he said.

“It’s the first time I’ve been out on my own. And new things will start to come into my game. With my next fight, the things that I’m learning over here you’ll see things you’ve never seen before. Defensive moves to create more openings – that’s the sort of training I’m doing.

“I’ll alter a couple of things and we’ll see a huge difference in that result.”

When asked if the Burns fight was a smart move – it was in the Scotsman’s back yard when he lifted in weight as Katsidis dropped down – Katsidis was reluctant to delve too far into the issue.

Like everything to do with his life in the fight game, everything is pointing forward. From the pain of defeat has come fresh life and this time, Katsidis is the one driving the bus.

There’s one more thing you need to know about Michael Katsidis – he swears he’s not done for just yet.

The world according to Rocky Katsidis

On his loss to Ricky Burns

“I’m definitely a better fighter. There’s no way he should come close to beating me. There’s a few ways you can look at it. One, I can be stronger at junior welterweight or two, I can fight the fight differently.

“A lot of people would think I should fight differently and it makes the difference. Others think I’ll be better at the other weight. I’ll just let the fighting do the talking and leave the rest of it.”

On moving up to campaign at light welterweight

“A lot of people said there are some big boys in that division. But talking to Oscar (De La Hoya), he’s got all the guys in that division. Roberto Duran was a small fighter and he carried a lot of power in his hands. I think that’s something I can bring into the game as well.”

On finding a new manager and promotor

“It sounds all really good. They can pick you up in a fancy limo but what can they do for me? I’m a worker. I’m from a very humble background. I want to earn my living. I don’t want it just shown in front of me. That doesn’t mean too much to me.

“At the end of the day, it sounds great. But I won’t just say ‘yes’. This guy might get me my next title shot or may not – how do I know? What’s his best interest? These are things I’ll sort out over the next few days.”

On his young family

“Over the past two years, I was lucky to be with my daughter for any stretch of time (as he trained in Thailand). Now I’ve really fallen in love with her all over again. I know the decisions I make aren’t just for me but the future of my family and my daughter as well.”

MICHAEL Katsidis and trainer-manager Brendon Smith have reflected on their 20-year partnership, during which they scaled the heights of world boxing.

One of Toowoomba’s most successful sporting partnerships has come to an end, with Katsidis and Smith parting ways after two decades together.

Katsidis, 31, made the decision to base himself in the United States after losing to Scotland’s Ricky Burns earlier this month in London.

He said he had been in talks with Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions about continuing his career in the United States.

Katsidis began training with Smith as an 11-year-old and that partnership took the gritty boxer to the Sydney Olympics and to the WBO lightweight world title twice.

Katsidis established himself as one of the toughest fighters in boxing under Smith.

The pair was training for his title fight against Juan Manuel Marquez in Thailand last year when news came through that Katsidis’ brother, champion jockey Stathi, had died.

“It was one of the hardest decisions of my life,” Katsidis said of splitting with Smith.

“I first walked in to his tin shed, when it didn’t even have a roof, when I was 11 years old.

“For the best part of 20 years we’ve worked together and we’ve gone as far as we can go now,” he said.

“We’ve been through everything and the main thing I wanted to get out now I’m ready to comment and the main thing I would say is if anyone wants to get a world title, Brendon is the bloke (to train under).”

Katsidis said there was no ill-will between him and Smith, and that he was excited about the next chapter of his career.

Smith said he didn’t see Katsidis’ decision coming, but wished his former fighter and his family well.

“I’m very proud in playing a major role in working with Michael in helping him achieve not only one world title but two, and helping him defend those titles in the world (boxing) capital of Vegas,” Smith said.

“What an incredible journey we had. It’s been a wonderful, tough and enjoyable journey.

“All good things do come to an end.”

As the Australian boxer worked out for the cameras on the other side of the world at an east London gym, he was keenly aware it was the first Tuesday in November.

He knew how much his brother – champion jockey Stathi, who died from a drug overdose just over 12 months ago – would have loved to have ridden the winner in the great race.

But the two-time world titleholder has a job at hand this week in preparing for Saturday night’s showdown against Scotsman Ricky Burns in London for the interim WBO lightweight title.

An extended amount of time with family has helped Katsidis through the grieving process but this week’s Melbourne Cup revived memories of his older brother.

“Of course it does,” Katsidis said.

“It spurs me on now.

“I have spent six months back home in Australia with the family and that has been really important to me mentally.

“I think I have done everything I needed to do in the gym.

“Now it is just a matter of doing the weight and I am in fight mode now.”

Katsidis, 31, has built up a formidable reputation in the United Kingdom on the back of memorable battles against Graham Earl in 2007 and Kevin Mitchell last year.

With a career record of 28 wins (23KOs) and four losses, the Queenslander said this weekend’s fight at Wembley Arena would be career defining.

“It is (for) my third world title, so it is everything,” he said.

“Just looking back, it was this time last year that I lost my world title and my brother at the same time.

“A year later, I am back and I want to win a few brothers too.”

After back-to-back defeats to stars Juan Manuel Marquez and Robert Guerrero, Katsidis won his most recent bout at light welterweight against Mexican Michael Lozada on the Gold Coast in August.

He believed he was coming into the prime period of his career.

“I fought the absolute best in the world. There was not one of those fights that I did not come within a whisker of nearly winning,” he said.

“I believe all I need is a perfect preparation to blast these guys out of the water. So I feel very, very confident.”

Burns (32 wins, 2 losses, 9KOs), who will make the step up from super featherweight, enjoys a 10cm advantage in reach on the Queenslander.

“He is going to be the best that Britain has produced that I have fought so far,” Katsidis said.

AAP

Promoter Frank Warren invites all media to attend the following events
ahead of the show at Wembley Arena on Saturday 5th November:

*Tuesday 1st November: Katsidis Media work-out*
Michael Katsidis will perform a media work-out and meet with the media to
discuss his forthcoming Interim WBO World title challenge against Ricky
Burns:
*Peacock Gym*
*Peacock House*
*Caxton Street*
*London, E16 1JL*
*Time: 1pm start*

*Wednesday 2nd November: Groves Media work-out*
George Groves will perform a media work-out and meet with the media to
discuss his forthcoming British and Commonwealth title defence against Paul
Smith:
*Hayemaker Gym*
*Railway Arch 116*
*Randal Road*
*London*
*SE11 5JR*
*(Nearest tube/train station is Vauxhall)*
*Time: 1pm start*

*Thursday 3rd November: Press Conference****
Burns-Katsidis/Groves-Smith, plus Southern Area Middleweight Champion Gary
Boulden and Billy Joe Saunders will all meet head-to-head at:
*Wembley Arena – Hospitality Suite*
*Arena Square*
*Engineers Way*
*London, HA9 0AA*
*Time: 11.30am for a 12noon start*

*Friday 4th November: Weigh-in*
All boxers’ will weigh-in at:
*Wembley Arena – Hospitality Suite*
*(Address as above)*
*Time: 2pm start*
* *

www.burnfitindustries.com

The winner of the lightweight battle between Ricky Burns and Michael Katsidis, will fall in line for a shot at WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez. The sanctioning body issued a ruling at their annual convention in Puerto Rico, that Marquez would have to face the Burns-Katsidis.

The fight depends on the outcome of Marquez’s trilogy bout, set for November 12 in Las Vegas, with WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao. It also depends on whether or not Marquez, win or lose with Pacquiao, returns to the lightweight division.

Burns and Katsidis will battle for the vacant WBO interim title on November 5th at Wembley Arena in London. If Marquez decides to continue his career above 135-pounds, the winner of Burns-Katsidis would become the full champion.

Marquez already faced Katsidis in 2010, where the Mexican boxer got off the floor in the third round to stop the tough Australian in the ninth.

www.burnfitindustries.com

After another gruelling camp in Thailand Michael Katsidis “The Great” and his team have now touched down in England ahead of his November 5th World Title fight against Scot Ricky Burns .

Team Katsidis were particularly happy with the last training camp as, unlike the last few, it has been incident free. “Michael had a few tough camps, as everyone knows, before  World Title fights with Marquez and Guererro” trainer/manager Brendon Smith said “It has been great to prepare with nothing else on our minds other than winning a third world title belt”

Katsidis is no stranger to the shores of England, being dubbed the “Brit Basher” after taking down two of the countries top prospects in devastating fashion. Katsidis stopped Graham Earl in 2007 to claim his first WBO World Title belt, only to return three years later to punish the undefeated Kevin Mitchell in three rounds. With all the success he has had in the UK Katsidis isn’t entering this fight  thinking it will be a breeze “Burns has better boxing ability than both Kevin Mitchell and Graham Earl. Earl has the biggest heart out of them while Mitchell is a little inconsistent. Burns will be the best I have faced in the UK, he is powerful and is a very consistent fighter. He has showed it in the past. It will be tough, like I said he is more consistent that Mitchell and he is a better boxer than Earl, if we are to compare him with the English lads.” Katsidis told Aus boxing.

Katsidis will be attending a press conference today in England and then fighting for the WBO interim Lightweight World Title on November 5th (6th in Australia) at Wembley Arena in London, the fight can be purchased through www.mainevent.com.au

Katsidis

Brendon Smith -Team Manager and Trainer:

+61 418 800 878

bsringstar@gmail.com

Scott Chapman- Marketing/Sponsorship:

+61 417 766 686

scott@katsidisthegreat.com.au

WWW.BURNFIT.COM.AU

Michael Katsidis may not be a super hero to everyone, and to his fans he is a lot more, he is a super warrior. When he enters the ring wearing his gladiator outfit everybody in the stadium knows war is about to break out. People know that when Michael fights it’s to the death no quarter is given, there is no giving up.

So sum it up one true fan once said “It is not the size of the crowd that really matters; it’s what the assembled masses took away from the event the knowledge that Queensland has a true and celebrated contender for world honours.”

Others class Michael as a hero, but under his tough exterior is a humble person. Michael hasn’t let the fame and glory takes control of his life; he would be the first one to come to somebodies aid.  So much so that over his boxing career he has donated to various charities, through time and money and mimics the famous quote from Alexander the Great; “Remember, upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.”

Michael is a true Queenslander born and raised, he is one that hasn’t forgotten his roots, and still loves his home town, Toowoomba. He knew from an early age that one day he would be a World Champion and to achieve his goal he would have to leave his beloved country and take on the World.

In 2007 Michael and his long-time Friend, Manager and Trainer Brendon Smith packed their bongos and headed to the UK to take on Graham Earl for the Interim WBO Lightweight World Championship.  As history shows Michael won convincingly in the fifth round with such an onslaught of aggression and power, it was the same aggression and power that deemed the fight as the best for that year.

With any sporting career there are the ups and downs, after a successful defence against CzarAmonsot, he took on the Legend Joel Casamayor. It was Michael’s first defeat, and although he had punched Casamayor out of the ring, he was caught in the 10th and went down for the count.

For Michael, giving up was not an option and with that he and Brendon decided to move their training camp to Thailand, where life is simple and away from the hype and outside influence.  Brendon would instil in Michael that a boxer does it hard in the ring and there for training should be the same, no luxuries and no attention. Their attitude and dedication payed off in Nov 2008 when Michael was once again fighting for the Interim WBO Lightweight Championship against Vicente Escobeto. The fight went the distance with Michael the victor via a split decision which, at the time, amazed the crowd who had already decided it should have been a unanimous call.

Having fought his last two fights in America, Michael once again travelled back to the UK to defend his title, taking on the undefeated Kevin Mitchell. Even before arriving Michael was written off by the media saying, “he’s had to many hard fights, he is getting to old.” The fight took place in Upton Park in front of 25,000 mostly Kevin Mitchell supporters. In three rounds Michael destroyed their beloved, and undefeated, Kevin.

Michael was back with vengeance, never fitter and ready to take on the best. All the struggle and hard work finely payed off, he was to fight the legend, the superstar and future hall of famer Juan Manual Marquez for the unification of the Lightweight division (WBO,WBA and Ring Magazine Lightweight titles), his childhood dreams coming to fruition.

The training camp in Thailand was in high spirits, everything was going to plan, Michael was fit and confident taking on the world’s best lightweight. Then five weeks before the event tragedy stuck. At 6 am Brendon got a phone call that nobody wants to get, he was informed that Michael’s brother Stathi had died earlier that morning. Michael was out for his morning run, and no one could imagine what was going through Smith’s mind while he awaited his boxers return.  Michael and Stathi could not have been closer as brothers; they spoke on the phone daily, equally supportive of each other when the chips were down. To Michael “he was more than my brother; he was also my best friend.”

Not one person in the World would have been surprised if Michael cancelled the fight, he just lost his best friend, something of this significance needs time to sink in, time to reflect and most importantly time to grieve.   Being the true warrior Michael is he informed millions of eager fans that he would continue. In his own words “Stathi would want me to fight on, I’m going to win this for him. I know he will be there in the ring with me.”If the camp wasn’t suffering enough, Brendon gets another phone call a few days later telling him his nephew was involved in a motorcycle accident and is paralysed from the neck down.  In their time of grieve, the two of them were alone without their families and friends, after discussion they did what they knew best, train to fight! Brendon said to Michael, “If you want to take on Marquez, let’s go to the gym and take it out on the bags.”

Michael was physically ready, but how do you fight a world champion like Marquez and the demons inside your head at the same time. The fairy tale nearly came off in the third round, and with a beautiful left hook he knocked Marquez to the canvas, any other boxer wouldn’t have got up, but this was Juan Manual Marquez! The super champion then went on to win the fight in the ninth round by stoppage, but once again the fight was nominated for the fight of the year.

Michael returned to Australia in 2011 after being away for five years to be with his family and try to come to terms with his brothers passing and regroup following two consecutive defeats. Being back in Toowoomba surround by friends and family, Michael resumed his training at the newly established Smithy’s Gym, which isowned and operated by long-time friend, trainer and manager Brendon Smith. The past seemingly washed off Michael and felt he was ready to take on the world again. Together they formed a partnership and promoted a fight at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre against Michael Lozada. The night was a huge success with Michael Katsidis stopping Lozada in the third round. The only disappointing aspect of the whole night was Australian TV would not support or televise the event, Michael and Brendon organised and payed for Aurora to broadcast a delayed telecast of the fight so his fans at least had a chance to see “The Great” back in action on Australian soil

As one fan wrote from the UK “I simply cannot believe that the fight is NOT to be televised, given the fact that this is Michael’s homecoming contest, you would think that someone in Australian Broadcasting would have made a more positive decision. I ponder on the fact that Michael is much more respected on foreign soil than he is in his own country – ye Gods, if this had been a fighter from my nation, Scottish Television would have ensured we had wall-to-wall pictures of the entire event!!!

To illustrate my point even further, if and when Michaelreturns to the ring in UK, you can bet that Sky, BBC and ITV will have to form a queue in order to cover Katsidis at work, he is probably one of the most respected overseas boxers, few have forgotten the destruction of Mitchell and indeed Earl at the hands of Michael, people want to see fighters fight and Michael delivers every time in this department – why do the Australian broadcasters see it differently?” So now Michael returns to the UK to fight Ricky Burns.

Michael Katsidis is Australian’s greatest boxer, some still call him Rocky, others Brit Bruiser, we all know him as Katsidis The Great and come Nov 5 he will achieve what no other boxer has ever done. History will be re-written when Katsidis The Great will fight for the third time to win the WBO Lightweight championship of the world. He will use his fists not his mouth on Nov 5 and in the words of Plato, “Wise men only speak when it is necessary, fools talk excessively because they feel they have to.”

It’s great news that MAINEVENT will be broadcasting the fight live in Australia,early morning of the 6^th of November.  So Australia get behind this great man,he fights for his fans, his heritage and his pridehe is a man whose  childhood dreams are about to become reality. Two hat-tricks in the making Earl, Mitchell and Burns.Three WBO Lightweight Titles.Truly Australia’s Super Warrior (Hero), World Champion and History Maker. Even a song has been writtenabout Michael’s sacrifice and determination to be the world’s No. 1. You can listen to the song at:iTunes – Music – KatsidisThe Great –Single by OwieParoz

Written By Stanley Curin

For more information or interviews with Michael you can contact Brendon Smith, his Manager/Trainer via his email:bsringstar@gmail.com For sponsorship contact Scott Chapman at scott@katsidisthegreat.com.au



Scottish fighter Ricky Burns has surrendered the WBO super-featherweight belt in order to move up to the lightweight division.

Burns took the decision due to the struggle he faced to sneak inside the 130lb super-featherweight limit, which he felt was putting his career under threat.

“It was a hard decision to vacate my title but it was the right time to do it and it was in my best interests,” he said. “Super-featherweight was draining the strength out of me. It was getting harder and harder to make the weight.

“It’s only five pounds of a difference but it makes a big difference. I was constantly worrying about what I was eating and the dieting was so strict. I was getting dehydrated boiling down to lose the last two or three pounds.

“And in doing that I was getting tired but I couldn’t take a day off. Now that weight is no longer an issue I can take a day off if I need to and now I can enjoy boxing. I have started changing the way I have been training, working on my upper body and legs and I will be so much stronger.”

Burns will now face Michael Katsidis, who ended Kevin Mitchell’s unbeaten record at Upton Park during 2010, for the WBO interim lightweight title on November 5. “I have just moved up to lightweight and I couldn’t have got a more difficult fight if I had tried,” he said.

“But this is a great chance for me, it is a great incentive to be fighting for a title right away – what more could you ask for? I will be preparing for 12 hard rounds.

“Michael is a great fighter. He has had a few defeats but that was against the best in the division and you could see how good he was with the way he beat Graham Earl and Kevin Mitchell.

“So this will be the toughest fight of my career and people can expect fireworks. You know what you are getting with Michael, he comes to fight and he is never involved in a dull fight.”

The trainer and manager of Aussie hard man Michael Katsidis has confirmed to WBN that his potential fight with former WBO super-featherweight champion Ricky Burns has been verbally agreed and subject to negotiations, should go ahead later in 2011.
Brendon Smith has overseen two successful trips to the UK by the 31 year-old in the past as Katsidis stopped both Graham Earl and Kevin Mitchell on British soil and is expecteing a great fight when the two boxers step in the ring for the interim WBO lightweight title.
“We have verbally agreed to fight Ricky Burns for the WBO interim world lightweight title,” Smith told World Boxing News.
“Ricky Burns is a very good fighter who Michael respects and is looking forward to the challenge.
“Michael is delighted to have the opportunity to win this title for the 3rd time. It is going to be a great fight!
More details surrounding the bout are set to emerge soon but it could happen in Burns’ native Scotland, with a date sometime in November expected.