UPDATE: Australian boxer Michael Katsidis is unlikely to fight again after he pulled out of his latest bout on February 21.
The former two-time interim WBO lightweight champion was due to face Filipino Weng Haya at the Melbourne Pavilion but has withdrawn due to an undisclosed medical reason.
While a source close to the fighter said his condition was "not serious", the 32-year-old will take an extended break from the sport and is unlikely to lace up the gloves again.
“I have got a story to tell and I will be telling it, but right now I need to talk with my family, management as well as medical staff,” Katsidis said on Facebook, while his trainer Johnny Lewis told News Ltd: "Michael was crying over this news.
"It's heartbreaking. "He wants to speak to his family first before announcing anything but really I'm glad the tests have stopped him fighting before something really bad happened.
"Boxing is a tough sport and it's no good taking chances with your health. Michael is a great bloke with a wife and young daughter and he has so much in his life to be happy about even though this chapter of his boxing career is closing."
Katsidis' all-action style has thrilled fans, particularly in the US and UK where he was a big favourite, but it has no doubt taken its toll. Almost never in a dull fight, he has been compared to the likes of Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward, a boxer ready to fight anybody at any time.
"I consider him to have been Australia's greatest fighter," his former long-time trainer Brendon Smith told thewest.com.au.
"I have only just heard the news that he has pulled out of the fight so I don't have any details. But if Michael is happy then I'm happy."
One of Smith's favourite memories of his time with Katsidis was his meeting with Graham Earl at Wembley Arena in 2007, a fight which has earned almost legendary status after the Queenslander climbed off the canvas to win a five-round war and claim his first interim title.
"That was the start of it all. Just four of us turned up against what seemed the whole of England," Smith said. "It was incredible. We knew it wasn't going to go the distance."
Jeered on their way to the ring, Katsidis won over the home crowd as he floored Earl four times. "We were lucky the the English public really took a liking to Michael," Smith said.
His next fight, his first in the US, was another battle as Katsidis defended his title against Czar Amonsot in a bout which saw both men require treatment at the local Las Vegas hospital.
In 2008, Katsidis suffered his first loss to challenging Cuba's classy WBC lightweight champion Joel Casaamayor, and this was followed by a split decision defeat to Juan Diaz.
But losing did little to harm Katsidis' marketability and in 2009 he regained his interim belt with yet another Vegas humdinger, against American Vicente Escobedo.
Katsidis went back to London a year later and turned on a masterful display in stopping local favourite Kevin Mitchell in three rounds in front of 25,000 fans at West Ham United's Upton Park football ground.
"The crowd there was completely against us but they went silent when Michael KO'd him," Smith said.
"It was special how Michael executed the plan - it was a sensational night."
But six moths later, in November 2010, Katsidis came up against WBA and WBO lightweight title-holder Juan Manuel Marquez, the fight taking place in the aftermath of the death of Katsidis' brother Stathi, a top-ranked jockey. Despite flooring the Mexican in the third, Katsidis was soon under pressure and Marquez forced a ninth-round stoppage in HBO's 2010 fight of the Year.
Three further losses in his next four - including world title losses to Robert Guerreo and Ricky Burns - indicated that Katsidis' all-or-nothing ring style was catching up with him.
Katsidis, who goes by the ring name of "the Great" in tribute to his Greek heritage, amicably parted company with Smith after the loss to Scotland's Burns in London, the fighter seeking a new challenge.
"He's been a great fighter and he's a special person," Smith said. "Whenever he's in Toowoomba he pops in and says hello.
"There were many highlights. When he won his titles fights in America, at Mandalay Bay and the MGM. And he's still the only Australian born and bred fighter to top HBO's Main Events four times."
Katsidis, who did not fight in Australia for five years between 2006 and 2011, has a record of 28 wins and six losses.
He hasn't fought since last April when he lost a light-welterweight bout to Ghanaian Albert Mensah in Las Vegas.
He will still attend the February 21 show in Melbourne, where he is scheduled to speak to fans.
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