By James Slater: Last week, the surprising news broke about how British lightweight warrior Graham Earl had asked Michael Katsidis’ people for a rematch of the terrific 2007 encounter then two action fighters put on. Earl, thought by many to be retired, spoke of how he was verbally promised a return chance soon after losing the 5-round thriller that took place in London in February of 2007. And now, according to a news piece on Fightnews.com, Katsidis’ manager Brendon Smith recently finalised a deal with Earl’s people.
The rematch will take place in Australia, and an exact venue and date will soon be determined. Smith says the fight will be “an amazing fight for Australia.” While Katsidis himself had the following to say about the upcoming rematch:
“Graham is one tough man, it will definitely be a war, and I love a war. I will have to be in my best shape for this battle. From the day we embraced each other and agreed for a rematch, he has chased me and now I will honour my commitment to Graham Earl and give him the rematch he has been seeking.”
But not everybody is as excited about this upcoming fight as Katsidis and Smith are. U.K trade paper, Boxing News, for example, simply wrote in this week’s issue how [then unconfirmed] rumours of a Katsidis-Earl II are “frightening.”
Indeed, and the fight could well prove to be an absolute disaster for the 32-year-old former British and Commonwealth champ from Luton. Remember how Earl was dismantled inside a round by Amir Khan in his fight after the loss to Katsidis, and how Graham was then stopped inside two-minutes by the relatively unknown Henry Castle in his fight after that? Earl had the look of a shot fighter; one who had no ability left when it comes to taking a good shot to the head.
Now, even though Katsidis has had more than his own share of wars and defeats, Earl will really be entering the lion’s den. British fighters have had a rough time coming out on top when travelling to Australia to fight. Only the criminally underrated and underappreciated Dennis Andries springs to mind when thinking of Brits who managed to upset the odds when fighting in Oz. Even a peak Graham Earl would have been up against it in accepting a fight with Katsidis down under. Now, after having had a two-year layoff, Earl, 26-4(12) looks to be a sure loser.
Unless Earl can somehow, shockingly, turn back the clock, he surely faces a quick KO defeat. Even if Earl has got more left than we think, it’s unlikely he will be able to do anything other than make the fight competitive for a few rounds. And for 30-year-old Katsidis, if he does win as easily and as swiftly as many people fear he will, what praise will there be? How will “The Great’s” fans react if it turns out that they’ve paid to see a mismatch?
Perhaps the often too-brave-for-his-own-good Katsidis, 27-4(22) is entitled to an easy win. I can’t see anything else taking place when the two men meet again this year.