Graham Earl is out, Michael Lozada is in, and Erik Morales is next as Katsidis and his team lock in the Gold Coast Convention Centre as the venue for “the great’s” next fight. Katsidis’s manager/trainer Brendon Smith today revealed that after a breakdown in contract negotiations with Graham Earl, Katsidis will now face 27 yo Mexican Michael Lozada (38 wins, 8 losses,30 wins by way of KO).

“We had a verbal agreement with Earl, which broke down when it came to the contractual agreement, we have now signed Lozada to come to Australia and we are excited to have it at the Gold Coast”.

“The Convention Centre is a fantastic venue for a fight like this, and it gives us the opportunity to let all the country fans, and fans from all over Australia spend the weekend on the beautiful Gold Coast”.

Katsidis will move up to Junior Welterweight for this bout and when asked his thoughts on the fight he said “I’m excited about moving up to Jnr Welterweight, and the challenge that comes with moving up a weight division. I want Morales next and that is what we are working toward, but firstly I need to focus on Lozada, he has a strong record with 38 wins and 30 knockouts”

This will be the first fight for Katsidis at 140 pounds (63.5kg) and Smith say’s the step up is in preparation for a potential fight with Mexican superstar and multiple world title winner Erik Morales later in the year, “I have had a few discussions with Oscar De La Hoya and the team at Golden Boy Promotions and there is big interest in a fight between Michael and Erik Morales, that was part of the reason for going with Lozada, we wanted to stick with the Mexican fighting style”.

Katsidis is in familiar territory when it comes to stepping in the ring with Mexican boxers, he won an 8 round TKO victory over former world champion Jesus Chavez in 2009 and, more recently, shared the ring with future hall of famer and three division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez in a fight of the year performance.

Katsidis will meet Lozada on August the 13th at the Gold Coast Convention Centre and ticketing information will be available soon.

Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre’s (GCCEC) Sales Manager for Entertainment and Special Events Paul Douglass said the venue is anticipating the biggest fight of the year. 

“GCCEC is well-equipped to host Katsidis and his opponent Lozada with world-class facilities at one of Australia’s favourite leisure destinations,” he said.

“We’re expecting to fill seats well beyond the 5,000 mark as fans make their way from around the country not to miss out on this exciting event.”

“As far as entertainment goes, this one is certainly on par with some of the biggest special events the Centre has hosted to date.”