• Steve Bunce

Throwback fight can see Burns shock Katsidis

There is a brilliant night on the cards at Wembley Arena on Saturday, with Ricky Burns topping the bill against Michael Katsidis for the interim WBO lightweight title.

Let's not beat around the bush here, this is a massive jump up in terms of size and quality of opponent for Ricky Burns. But this is not the first time he has been the underdog and it's certainly not the last time he will be the underdog. Katsidis has only lost to very good world champions during his career. Ricky Burns is a terrific fighter and has got there the hard way, the old-fashioned way. I think this is a throwback fight, I really do. You do not see fights like this very often. Burns could have carried on defending WBO super-feather title in so-so fights, but he has not. The weight was an issue. He has taken this fight with Katsidis and it is a massive step up in class. And it is a massive night for British boxing, but Ricky can win because he is clever, a thinker and that type of fighter can cause Katsidis problems. I think there could be a shock result here.

No place for Groves complacency
George Groves and Paul Smith will also meet at Wembley and it is a really interesting fight because it is about fighting smart. James DeGale easily beat Paul Smith, in fact he gave him a boxing lesson and really got on top of him. No one expected James DeGale to make it look that easy, certainly not Paul Smith who was stunned and confused at the end. Then of course a few months later George Groves gave James DeGale a boxing lesson in front of about 20,000 people at the O2. Now it was not as convincing as DeGale's victory over Smith, but nevertheless it was a very clever and controlled boxing lesson. So the sensible thing is how the hell does Paul Smith survive with the guy that beat the guy that beat him so easily? That's the so-called 'sensible thinking'. However, boxing does not work that way. In fact, most sports don't work that way. It just doesn't and a million different factors have to be considered. Did Paul Smith underestimate James De Gale? 100%. Did James DeGale underestimate George Groves? 100%. So the next question is: will George Groves underestimate Paul Smith? I don't think he will but even if there is just a shred of doubt in the mind, even just a thought that 'I am going to win this'. If there is even a moment of complacency it will boost Smith's chances. What you have in Smith is a guy fighting for his survival at this level and that always makes it tricky.

This fight on its own is terrific but coupled with Katsidis against Burns, it is a high-quality double header.

Del Boy at a crossroads
And to add to that you have Dereck 'Del Boy' Chisora coming back after losing his British title to Tyson Fury. He is coming back against Larry Olubamiwo and it is a bit of a grudge match. They have a bit of history. Larry has lost a couple, Dereck has lost one. But Larry can stop them, Dereck can do that as well and this is a tough fight at a major junction for both boxers. It is a make-or-break fight and in certain other periods of British boxing history these two might have fought two fat bums and won quickly without providing a moment of entertainment. So it is great to see them fighting and I hope the people realise what a great card they are getting.

Quality on the undercard
There is a kid on the undercard called Frank Buglioni who with a bit of luck could have gone to the amateur world championships and then to the Olympics, but he has decided his face does not really fit and he has turned pro. This will be Frank's first fight and he works with Jimmy and Mark Tibbs at the gym in an east London scrapyard that is run by Johnny Eames.

Also on the Wembley bill will be Billy Joe Saunders, an Olympian in Beijing, in a Southern Area title fight against Gary Boulden. It is a good bill and when you have Katsidis topping the bill, a guy who has topped the bill in massive fights in big venues around the world, it is a going to be a terrific night. Good value for fans at ringside and everybody watching on TV.

Steve Bunce is co-host of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption show. Click here for more details

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