One More Round: Marquez/Katsidis, Caballero/Litzau, Ward/Bika

Jason Karp brings you this week's edition of One More Round.

Last Saturday's edition of HBO Championship Boxing was modern pugilism at its most presentable; indeed, stripped of its as-of-late requisite levels of corruption, incompetence, and shortsightedness, the card represented boxing's strongest attempt of the year at disguising itself as a properly functioning sport.

Marquez - Katsidis

Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsidis anchored the evening with a contest that, while not quite deserving of the label of classic, nonetheless easily placed it amongst 2010's top offerings.

While the bout more than made the grade in most of the token categories deemed necessary for what might be considered a great fight – frantic exchanges, shifts in momentum, an exciting conclusion – the affair was weighed down by a sense of inevitability, a sense that, in the end, proved itself to be well founded.

The pin-point accuracy of Marquez and the numbers in which he threw his shots meant that for all the pressure Katsidis was able to exert on the Mexican, the proud challenger's math in terms of punishment doled out and punishment taken was never likely to add up in his favour. It takes the right combination of God-given abilities to properly execute a pressure-style strategy against a fighter of Marquez's quality – an iron chin, a bottomless resource of energy, and a sturdy punch would be a good start - abilities that Katsidis just doesn't have.

Nevertheless, even if the destination was self-evident, the road taken was well worth the price of admission.

On Katsidis's end, spectators were privy to a fighter mounting a brave battle against obstacles both physical and psychological. Weathering a barrage of three-, four-, and five-punch combinations in order to set-up base in Marquez's chest, the Aussie pressed on, forcing his Hall-of-Fame-bound opponent to work for every inch of canvas and every slither of punching space. It was an inspiring performance, particularly given the emotional toll the death of his brother, Stathi, must have taken on him - a toll which bared itself out during Katsidis's post-fight interview with Larry Merchant. This is an issue that has stoked criticism amongst the boxing community and one that I'll deal with shortly.

But the true star of the evening was undoubtedly Marquez. Dinamita's technique and the manner in which he executes his craft is a throwback to the defining qualities of the sport's golden age, when master technicians like Charley Burley and Joe Louis gave credence to the moniker the sweet science. Watching Marquez operate, one gets the sense of an athlete for whom every move is carefully deliberated over, and yet when put into action, come off as naturally and unthinkingly as a pressure fighter's decision to step forward.

Marquez, particularly in this day in age, when brick-and-mortar brawlers like Antonio Margarito can ascend to the highest levels of the sport on power, stamina, and a disregard for footwork and form, appears to be operating on a higher plane than other fighters. His ability to make nuanced adjustments mid-fight and to punish his opponent's mistakes with accurate, multi-punch combinations, act as a reminder that amongst the violent chaos that is a boxing match, there is order. It's up to the fighters to recognize that order and utilize it to their advantage, and no one does that better than Juan Manuel Marquez.

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The note-worthy performances associated with this fight, however, do not end with the fighters. Referee Kenny Bayless once again distinguished himself as the top third man in the ring in all of boxing. His decision to halt the action in the ninth round was not only a wise one, but a brave one, as well. Too often we encounter referees who allow a clearly beaten and/or over-matched fighter to continue taking punishment. Such ill-advised decisions typically occur in one of two circumstances. One is in the presence of a fighter who, while for all intents and purposes is defeated and disarmed, continues to throw punches, no matter how ineffectively. The second is during a fight that, while one-sided in nature, fails to offer up a definitive moment on which the referee can justify stopping the action. Both often result in a fighter taking prolonged and unnecessary damage, the type that can be the difference between a tough night out and the end of a career.

Not only did the ninth round of last Saturday's bout offer up neither of these signals of a broken fighter, but the forty-second stretch that saw Marquez amp up his offence and take the blade to Katsidis's throat occurred so suddenly and out of such an evenly matched stretch of action, that Bayless would have been forgiven for not reacting quick enough or thinking that Katsidis was capable of weathering the storm. Thankfully, this wasn't the case. It takes courage to stop a fight of that calibre on gut instinct alone, when a fighter is still defending himself and was, until a few seconds prior, very much in the fight. It's the type of authoritative decision many referees, and many trainers, too, have been unable to make, when placed in similar situations.

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One participant in last Saturday's fight whose actions have come under attack is Larry Merchant. While many see his decision to drag the topic of Katsidis's deceased brother into his line of questioning during his post-fight interview with the Aussie as insensitive, it did have the benefit of providing an opportunity for the crowd to show their appreciation for Katsidis, a fact made all the more touching by the partisan Mexican makeup of the live audience that night.

Caballero - Litzau

The under card portion of HBO's telecast featured a shock in the form of Jason Litzau's split-decision victory over Celestino Caballero. The shock, however, wasn't so much in Litzau's performance, which while valiant and tactically astute, came against a weight-drained and seemingly disinterested Caballero. The shock, instead, came in the form of the judges' ability to award the decision to the deserving man. Too often do we see game B-sides mount aggressive challenges to heavily favoured name fighters, only to be deprived of a well-deserved win on account of either a hindrance of vision or corruption of integrity. Compared to more recent robberies, such as Zab Judah's obviously tainted victory over Lucas Matthysse three weeks ago, Caballero's volume and sporadic bouts of effective punching meant that the judges could have easily justified sneaking this one past the peanut gallery in an effort to keep Caballero's stock up and their names' in the good grace of HBO and Lou DiBella. It's too their credit that they didn't, although I'm sure I'm not the only one who was preparing for the worst when that 93-97 score was read aloud.

Ward - Bika

On Showtime's side of the fence, fans were witness to another efficient, if unimaginative, performance from Andre Ward, this time care of a rough-and-tumble twelve-round unanimous-decision victory over Sakio Bika. As the novelty behind Ward's sudden rise to prominence begins to wear off, observers have taken to casting a more critical eye towards S.O.G's style of pugilism, particularly his habit of holding and hitting on the inside. While this mode of combat doesn't make for the most interesting of encounters, it is hardly worthy of the scorn it seems to be attracting from certain quarters of the boxing community.

Technically illegal as Ward's brand of in-fighting may be, flirtation, and sometimes outright philandering, with the margins of boxing's rule-book is nothing new to the sport. It is rare to find a member of boxing's best who doesn't carry an outlawed weapon or two into the ring with them. Bernard Hopkins fashioned an entire middleweight reign partially out of his innovative use of low blows and various other insidious maneuvers.  Evander Holyfield was notorious for brandishing his head as a weapon. And even Manny Pacquiao, as revealed in Thomas Hauser's recent behind-the-scenes piece at SecondsOut.com, has become comfortable with the notion of spurning advances to his body with a carefully positioned outward jutted elbow. I'm reminded of the words of Ricky Hatton, following his 2007 bout with Floyd Mayweather, who made constant use of his forearm when operating on the inside against the Hitman: "It ain't exactly a ticking match out there."

Too true, Ricky. Too true.

Boxing is a harsh trade, which often attracts the participation of hardened men. Don't be surprised when the action inside the ring mirrors this reality.

Additionally, I like to think that a style the likes of Ward's adds an extra dimension to the sport, namely in the area of strength. The type of grappling and jockeying for position that a fighter like Ward encourages forces the athletes to reinforce themselves in the area of brute strength, not just their punching strength. As I see it, anything that pushes boxers to become more well-rounded, complete athletes is a good thing.

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