SPAR WARS BREAKS OUT AS CHAMPS SQUARE OFF
IN WHAT could have been one of the great Australian fights of all time, world welterweight champion Jeff Horn has been trading punches with Toowoomba’s former world titleholder Michael Katsidis ahead of the Battle of Brisbane on December 13.
Horn, who did three furious rounds with the former lightweight king in the gym on Monday, is preparing to face a relentless assault from English gypsy Gary Corcoran at the Brisbane Convention Centre.
On Monday, he sparred 11 rounds against four fighters – Katsidis, world-rated junior-middle-weight Dennis Hogan, rugged professional Mark Gadaleta and rising amateur star Jacob Bobir.
“I’m really happy with Jeff’s preparation,” trainer Glenn Rushton said. “You couldn’t find a tougher bunch of sparring partners.”
Katsidis, 37, who famously decked Manny Pacquiao’s conqueror Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas, will compete in a Super 8 elimination tournament in Toowoomba on Saturday night.
Horn, 29, has four 12round sparring sessions left before the fight. Corcoran, 27, wrapped up his sparring in London on Saturday with a 10-round slugfest against Russia’s former world champ David Avanesyan.
“The best thing about being an underdog is when people say you can’t win,” said Corcoran, who, like Horn, has 17 wins in 18 fights.
“I had been saying for weeks before I got offered the fight that Horn is so beatable.”