From another forum, but I thought you guys might want to have a read...
Courtesy Southern California Notebook - By Doug Fischer (Aug 28, 2008)
I didn't see Katsidis yesterday, but the folks at the gym say the Aussie of Greek descent has been looking pretty sharp.
"Michael looks well from what I've seen," said Dean Byrne, an 8-0 junior welterweight prospect from Ireland who has relocated to L.A. to further his career. "He definitely looks better than he did before the Casamayor fight. If he had the form he's showing now [before the Casamayor fight] I think he would have beat Casamayor."
Roach agreed with Byrne's assessment of the usually relentless slugger from Down Under.
"[Katsidis] has been boxing for this camp," he said. "He looks a lot better now than he did for Casamayor."
One of Katsidis's sparring partners, junior featherweight prospect Alejandro Perez, was in the gym while I was there.
Perez, a 22-year-old from Salinas with a 12-1 record, sparred with Katsidis a few times last year (when the Aussie thought he had a match with Joan Guzman) and went six rounds with him this past Tuesday.
"The last time I sparred with Katsidis he just stood in front of me, wanting to go toe to toe," said Perez, who now lives in Los Angeles where he trains and also attends L.A. City College. "Now he's moving more; he doesn't stand in one place. And he's also working on his counter punching.
"He's good when he boxes. I'm thinking that he can beat Diaz and I wouldn't have said that last year."
