© Tom Hogan

In classic boxer vs. puncher clash, WBC Lightweight Champion Joel Casamayor came from behind last night at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, CA to stop WBO titlist Michael Katsidis in the tenth round.

36 year old Casamayor had started the bout on fire, decking Katsidis back to back twice in the very first round with southpaw power left hands and it was clear that all the pure skill advantages in the bout belonged to the former Cuban defector.

But the youthful Australian held the edge in strength and bulled his way in while learning to slip those timing shots from Casamayor and began to punish the older man with heavy hooks and uppercuts, many to the body.

Katsidis took control of the bout in the fourth frame and in the sixth, belted Casamayor with a massive left hook that knocked the WBC kingpin out of the ring. Casamayor was back through the ropes and ready to go by the count of eight but had to draw on his long experience to survive the rest of the frame.

Things went the Aussie's way into the ninth until Casamayor had a point deducted for an obvious low blow. That slowed Katsidis down enough for Casamayor to regain some of his earlier composure and he began to pick off the oncoming WBO boss with heavy shots.

Early on in the tenth, Casamayor caught his rival coming in with a perfectly timed hook that downed Katsidis. He beat the count but was clearly hurt and Casamayor wasted no time jumping on Katsidis, forcing a controversial referee stoppage to end the bout 30 seconds into the tenth round.

Joel Casamayor wins his fifth straight to climb to 36-3-1 (22) and annexes the WBO Lightweight crown. The victory could open the door for a rematch with newly minted IBF Champ Nate Campbell, whom Casamayor defeated in 2003.

Michael Katsidis loses for the first time in his career to drop to 23-1 (20) and will likely campaign for a return bout with Casamayor.

On the undercard, two super middleweights on the comeback trail clashed in an eventful contest that saw Librado Andrade, 27-1 (21) stop Robert Stieglitz, 31-2 (19), in the eighth round to win an IBF title eliminator.

Germany based Russian Stieglitz could not keep the iron-chinned Mexican Andrade from coming forward and wilted under the intense pressure, losing the bout at 1:53 of the eighth.

Click to read more boxing articles by Richard Eberline

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Boxing News Tags: , Joel Casamayor, Michael Katsidis