Katsidis, Green and a real loss

Well the Katsidis/Casamayor fight was a corker wasn't it? Michael down twice in the first when he kept leading with his face, a great comeback and then Casamayor down and almost out in the sixth from that body shot and then that tenth round where Katsidis came out blazing, hurt the Cuban and then walked into a huge left hand and went down himself. It was definitely fight of the year material regardless of my disappointment at the Aussie losing. Katsidis certainly gave his all and he's sure to be offered more fights in the US based on that blue. And Casamayor was a surprise too considering how lack lustre his last bout was. He really came out firing himself and his jab in particular looked the strongest I've seen for a long time. He was obviously taking Katsidis seriously. A great bout and I'm sure Michael learnt more from this loss than any of the previous twenty three victories. He certainly hasn't lost any fans with the fight he put up.

Danny Green has retired! Where the hell did that come from? Seemingly in the midst of preparing himself for his first title defense and from all reports looking strong, he's suddenly upped and quit the game claiming he wants to spend time with his family and wants to go out on top. Something else has to be going on that we don't know about. You don't quit in the middle of preparations for a world title defense unless there's something seriously wrong somewhere - whether it's your own health, a family problem, illness... if he had been out of the game for a year ala Paul Briggs then I wouldn't be surprised at the announcement but this seems to have caught everyone (including his team) by surprise. We'll just have to wait and see. Until then I'd just like to say thanks Danny for giving us a true blue Aussie bloke to support, for the great bouts you put on (especially against Eric Lucas) and for never backing down from a fight. We can only wish you well in the future and hope everything is alright and that this is purely a man who just wants to be at home with his family.

RIP Joe Bridges - Amateur Boxing Icon and legend who passed away on Friday 22nd March aged 74 years old and just three days shy of his 75th birthday. I met Joe last year after a couple of phone calls to talk about boxing and the like and we discovered that he was from the same end of the world as me (only he'd been there thirty years longer) and in fact in my father's boxing collection we dug out the original Amateur Boxing mags that Joe and his wife Julie had put out back in 1978 from Millicent. The next time I saw Joe he dropped around some back issues of the new Amateur Boxing mag that he'd resurrected in 2003 and we talked a bit about a few of the old hands down in Millicent and what was happening around Adelaide. He then went off to the doc's to have a check up as he was in the midst of battling bowel cancer! A tough old bugger, he then organised to walk from Adelaide to Melbourne to raise money for cancer research. This he did last year and I was one of the few that showed up in Victoria Square to see him off. I'm not bragging here, I was there because well, I guess I was representing Millicent and my old man and Tony Campbell and the other friends that couldn't be there. Joe did that walk, though it took a lot out of him by all reports. That was the last time I actually talked to him, just before he headed off with a camera man following to get footage for the news. He was planning another walk this year from Melbourne to Sydney and i was meaning to catch up with him to see how the plans were going. i didn't get to it and now, well... anyway, it was good to know you Joe even if it was only briefly. One of my greatest writing moments was getting an article into The Fist a few years back about SA boxer Jamie Wallace. In the very next issue was a letter from Joe correcting a factual error! He also added that it was a great story. Mate, i don't think I told you but i was as proud as punch when you said that. I still am.