Juan Manuel Marquez Defends Title Against Michael Katsidis & Father Time

It has been a real privilege watching the great Juan Manuel Marquez work all these years. The man with the best offensive technique in boxing has provided fans with a host of memorable moments and manly masterpieces for quite some time now, but the 37 year old Lightweight Champion is not through just yet.

Being king of three weight classes during his career is not enough. He wants to be the first Mexican fighter to conquer a fourth. And that leftover business with Manny Pacquiao still stings a little. Marquez has never lacked ambition or drive, and that hunger helped him outlast Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, two more future Hall Of Famers, with whom he will always be compared.

But when does the sad ending come? When does the damage and wear from 17 years of professional prizefighting put an end to it all? The point of no return must be just around the corner.

The question is, can Michael Katsidis bust down the walls with just brute strength and balls? Will the challenger's power and pressure push the old champ over the edge?

Most fans and writers think the Aussie will be sliced up with surgical precision. Certainly not out of the question against a fighter who once described himself as a "bloody bleeder", but I do think he has a chance to win with as vicious a body attack as he can muster, and some good luck.

He's got an impressive assortment of physical tools to work with, probably most important being uncommon strength for a 135lber. Katsidis might win a shoving match with any lightweight in history. I think he'll be able to toss the slightly smaller Marquez around a bit in close. 22 KOs in his 27 wins looks great, too.

While he is heavy-handed and pretty quick, he doesn't always get full leverage on the power shots up top. The left hook, in particular, is often more of a hard cuff than a concussive blow. That said, I thought his game looked tighter than ever in his last fight, a 3rd round TKO of then undefeated Kevin Mitchell. And it was a short, well-timed hook that won it for him.

If he's going to try and explode on Marquez early and often (and he probably has to), I think his best bet is to smash the ribcage to bits. From what I've seen, it looks like Katsidis hits harder downstairs than up and old fighters hate it to the body even more than everybody else. At worst, he'll get his pound of flesh. At best, he finds the liver or breaks something, and is the new champion of the world. Besides, he's not going to win a decision. His eyelids won't allow him to see a full 12, so he might as well go for it from the first bell, as Juan Diaz did against Marquez in 2009's Fight of the Year.

So who do you take in a sure firefight, the battle-hardened professor or the hungry beast?

It took me awhile longer than most, but I've decided to back brains over brawn this time around. The champion is one of the great thinkers of this era, and I'm sure he'll be able to deal with the heavy artillery headed his way. In a battle between two offensive machines, I'm taking the classic model.

Marquez TKO 6. Facial damage helps produce another highlight reel KO.

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Welterweight contender, Andre Berto, and P4P player, Celestino Caballero, will be showcased on the undercard against opponents (Freddy Hernandez and Jason Litzau) who are just there to provide some rounds, not to muck up anyone's plans.

Berto hasn't fought in a long time, so giving him a horrendously slow comeback opponent makes sense. Perhaps I'm just being overly optimistic, but I think the big step-up fight everyone has been waiting for is coming next.

Caballero has added some wrinkles to his game recently. I'll be interested to see what kinda progress he's made under the guidance of the one decent member of the Mayweather family, Jeff. Back to back dates on HBO is a good sign for the guy none of the other top featherweights are all that eager to tangle with.

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