[Video] Coyle’s Left Hook Ends Katsidis in Round Two

The comeback of Michael Katsidis was permanently derailed by a Tommy Coyle left hook in the second round last night at the Hull Arena.

Katsidis started and ended the fight with his trademark come-forward pressure and phone-booth hooking style. The younger Coyle used his legs to create distance and catch Katsidis with counter hooks. It would be the counter left hook off the ropes that erased Katsidis’s equilibrium and left him in no shape to continue despite beating the count.

The knockout extends Coyle’s win streak to five since a surprise 10th round TKO upset loss to Derry Matthews last year. Katsidis returned to boxing in March following a two-year sabbatical, defeating Eddy Comaro (TKO3) and Earl Graham (UD12) before last night’s defeat.

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The end of the fight sums up Michael Katsidis’ warrior spirit. He was in dire straits, but lifted his gloves to fight despite the inevitable (ref calling off the fight).

The first big fight I ever covered was Mayweather vs. Marquez in September 2009. Katsidis was on the undercard and won a hard-fought decision over Vincente Escobedo. In that bout, Katsidis kept up a frenzied workrate for the entire 12 rounds in spite of the grotesque swelling on the side of his face. While most of us were mortified and thought for sure Katsidis would skip the post-fight press conference and head to the hospital, he was right there with us afterward sheepishly saying his injury was no big deal.

But that battle scar and last night’s KO are a big deal — there are only so many beatings the human body can endure. Katsidis is well past his career expiration date considering the fact his last significant win was four years ago against Kevin Mitchell. Since then, he’s gone 3-5 with two losses being KOs, and the others being one-sided decision defeats (the lone exception being a 2012 majority decision loss to Albert Mensah).

The time has come to save Michael Katsidis from himself.