The Neutral Corner

Someone forgot to tell Joel Casamayor that his March 22 fight against Michael Katsidis was actually his retirement party. The 36-year-old Cuban champion had shown a lot of ring mileage recently and most in the know expected the young challenger to permanently deliver Casamayor to the ranks of the inactive.

Never one to shrink from a challenge, Casamayor, boldly predicted he would be the first to hang a loss on the 27-year-old Katsidis. When asked how he would prepare for his young, bullish opponent, Casamayor sniffed, "I don't prepare to fight him, he prepares to fight me."

A pair of left hands dropped Katsidis in the very first round. But the kid from Australia was young and strong and stubborn and after he picked himself up it looked like the night was over for Casamayor. Katsidis, called the next Arturo Gatti by some, marched through the blood and through the punches and began to dominate this lightweight title fight. He didn't earn this spot on HBO because he falls down and gets back up. It's what he does once he gets back up that landed him in the ring with Casamayor in Cabazon, California.

By the third round, Katsidis was stalking and digging punches into Casamayor's belly. Katsidis never took a backward step, pressuring the champion with his presence as well as his punches. In the fourth round, one of those punches -- a right hand --- caught Casamayor flush. The veteran was hurt along the ropes and this looked like it would be Casamayor's
final stand. Stunned, he gritted his teeth and started bombing back. For a 10-second sequence, with the Cuban's back to the ropes, it was as good as it gets in the sport of boxing. Both men winging power punches. Casamayor, prepared to be carried out if it came to that, dropped his guard and fought back.

It would be enough to make Fidel Castro proud.

Of course, El Presidente has a special word for those athletes who leave his tiny island nation. Cuba just may be the greatest sports machine - per capita -- in the history of sports. The Communist system has produced superstars in boxing and baseball. And when those superstars leave, as Casamayor did in 1996, they are forever considered traitors. Gusanos (worms) is what Fidel likes to call them.

Champion is what the rest of the world calls Casamayor.

What you saw from Casamayor in that fourth round had nothing to do with Fidel Castro. It had to do with what is inside Joel Casamayor. He showed again that he had the heart of a champion, a courage that is found only in the depths of elite boxer. It may have been Castro's system that developed the immense talent in this southpaw from Guantanamo, but what makes Casamayor special has nothing to do with Castro or Cuba. He is a fighter and the true fighter carries on in the most dire of circumstances. That comes from within. If Casamayor was going to relinquish his throne, Katsidis would have to earn it.

Katsidis, who entered the ring with a 23-0 record, nearly did in the sixth round when a series of punches deposited Casamayor on the ring apron. The champion barely made it back inside the ropes before being counted out. It seemed over. The only thing left to be determined was exactly how much punishment Casamayor would endure before the end.

In his last bout, in November at Madison Square Garden, Casamayor was fortunate to leave New York with his lightweight title belt and a split decision over Jose Santa Cruz. The toll of 400 amateur fights and wars with Diego Corrales and Acelino Freitas had seemingly caught up with the Cuban magician.

This fight ended in an instant. Really, just like a magic trick. The young fighter was coming forward. Youth, energy, momentum all on his side. It was time to close the show, which is exactly what Casamayor did. He caught Katsidis with a powerful, looping left hand -- BOOM -- and the challenger was spilled into a corner. Katsidis barely made it to his feet. When he did, he wobbled forward. The fight continued, briefly, just enough for Casamayor to land one more blow. The referee stopped it thirty seconds into round 10.

The fight was over and the career of Joel Casamayor carries on. -- CASSIDY