Boxing Betting / Ralph Ellis / 14 May 2010 /

Hammers fan Kevin Mitchell will attempt to capture the WBO lightweight title at Upton Park on Saturday night. Ralph Ellis believes his opponent should expect a traditional East End welcome.

I love football songs that have nothing to do with football. When everybody from the lads behind the goal to the granny in the stands will join in. It spreads an atmosphere round a stadium that is unique.

Obvously, there's "You'll Never Walk Alone" at Anfield. Listening to Stoke fans doing "Delilah" is the same. And further down the scale at little Bristol Rovers a crowd of six thousand can sound like sixty when they all join in the chorus of "Goodnight Irene".

And then, of course, there's "Bubbles" at West Ham. Now I declare an interest because that's where I grew up, fortunate enough to see Bobby Moore play live week in and week out. There's still nothing in sport that sends a tingle down my spine more than sitting at Upton Park with the whole crowd joining in.

That's the sort of atmosphere which will be facing Michael Katsidis tomorrow night when Kevin Mitchell tries to capture his WBO lightweight crown. The 29-year-old Aussie is the more experienced of the two fighters, but I sense he's still going to be taken by surprise at the noise generated by 20,000 fans at the Boleyn Ground. And probably confused too when they inevitably give a chorus or two of Bubbles because Mitchell is a big Hammers fan.

Katsidis is clearly in awe of the atmosphere he'll face. "I've heard about how big football is in England and I'm really excited to see how passionate they are about their sport," he's told the BBC. That suggests he hasn't actually got a clue about just how overwhelming the atmosphere might be.

It's one of the reasons why Dagenham boy Mitchell is [1.71] favourite for this fight, but it doesn't seem to be factored into the [3.35] for the local lad to win inside the distance and that's where the value is.

Mitchell came up with a canny fight when he out-boxed Breidis Prescott and established himself a reputation then as a patient puncher. That appears to be what Katsidis is expecting. "I haven't really looked into the guy, I just heard when he fought Prescott he ran like a cat," he said in a classic bit of trash talk.
But that means there's another surprise coming apart from the impact of the crowd. Don't forget that in February Mitchell flattened the Colombian Ignacio Mendoza in two rounds and with the crowd to roar him on could easily produce the same sort of whirlwind start again.

Mitchell has been boxing in Amir Khan's shadow all his career, and it's happening again because most eyes will be on New York where the Bolton boy does battle with Paulie Malignaggi. But he looks capable of matching Khan for both hand speed and punching power, and this will be another significant step for him after the success of his first headline Wembley fight two months ago.

The thing about "Bubbles" and those other football songs is that they bring everybody together in good times and bad. At Upton Park this season it's been mostly the latter - but Saturday night should get everybody behind Mitchell's dream, and this one won't fade or die.

Five things you might not know about Michael Katsidis

1. Born August 1980 in Toowoomba, Queensland, his Greek father comes from a tiny hamlet which is said to be the birthplace of Achilles.

2. He had 75 wins from 81 fights as an amateur, but lasted only two bouts in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

3. His elder brother Stathi is one of Australia's top jockeys, although his career has
suffered controversy. He was banned for nine months in 2008 because of a positive drug test.

4. He met his Japanese wife Kumiko in Los Angeles. They now live with their five month old daughter Kalia Rose in Las Vegas.

5. On his back he has tattooed the Vergina sun - a Greek symbol of a shining star with 16 rays.

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