flickr.com/neurmadic aesthetic

TOOWOOMBA boxer Michael Katsidis is adamant he won yesterday's IBO lightweight world title fight against Juan Diaz, despite the judges scoring in favour of the hometown boxer.

Katsidis lost a split points decision, two judges scoring in favour of Diaz 116-112, 115-113 and the other in favour of the Toowoomba boxer 115-113.

Trainer Brendon Smith said last night he believed it was a tight bout that should have gone the way of Katsidis.

“When it goes a split decision in someone's hometown, it usually means the other guy won,” Smith said.

“The judge from Washington scored it our way 115-113 and I believe he had it spot on.

“Look it was an extremely close fight that could have gone either way, but I thought it could easily have gone our way.”

Smith was full of praise for Katsidis, who x-rays later cleared of a broken right hand, which was injured in the early rounds of the fight.

He said the pair would reassess their next move soon, but had no clear plans at this stage.

“I'm extremely proud of Michael and his performance and what he did against one of the elite boxers in the world was tremendous,” Smith said.

“He showed another dimension to his boxing tonight and I think he surprised a few people by boxing the way I always knew he was capable of.

“There are some big options out there for him, but at this stage, we'll just regroup and make a decision on his future down the track.”

While Katsidis believed he had done enough to win the fight, the Toowoomba boxer was philosophical rather than bitter about the result.

“I'm not too disappointed. It's not as if I'm not going to be able to sleep at night after that one,” Katsidis said.

“The Casamayor one was disappointing because I had it in the bag but here I did the best I could and I can keep my head held high after this fight.”

Renowned for all his all-action style, Katsidis didn't try to blast Diaz out in the early rounds.

Well-schooled Diaz used his jab well and was prepared to mix it with Katsidis at close quarters.

“It was my jab that won the fight for me. I hurt him and I busted him up,” Diaz said.

“Katsidis is a tough customer. He's hard and very powerful, however my skills gave me the victory.”