WBO and WBA lightweight (135 pounds) champion Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico got up off of the canvas from a third-round knockdown that was the result of a vicious left hook, and then recovered to fire 61 unanswered punches at a reeling WBO interim king Michael Katsidis of Australia that forced referee Kenny Bayless to step in and call a halt to the fight at 2:14 of the ninth round of Saturday night's clash at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. "It was a very polished performance by Juan Manuel. It's just one of those things that I got caught late in the fight, and, you know, I gain experience from every fight. What can I say? " said Katsidis, red welts under both eyes, including the left one, which bled profusely from a cut above it at the time of the stoppage. "I always knew that it was in the cards [to score a knockdown,] but he's a very experienced fight and there's no point in rushing in and trying to finish the job. That's when he takes advantage the most," said Katsidis. "I have to give all of the credit to Juan Manuel Marquez. He did a great job." In victory, the 37-year-old Marquez improved to 52-5-1, with his 38th knockout, and the 30-year-old Katsidis slipped to 27-3, with 22 KOs. Read more: http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2010/11/...stops-michael-katsidis-in-ninth-round/?synd=1
This was the main fight of the night, after the Berto fight. I turned on this fight at halftime of the Bulls game and didn't switch back until the fight was over. It was a really good fight to watch. I thought the ref might have stopped the fight a little too quickly.
