In what many observers were anticipating to be a highly fan-friendly fight, Márquez suffered a knockdown in round three from a hard Katsidis left hook. He managed to recover swiftly, building up a lead on all the judges' scorecards and gradually neutralising Katsidis' aggression with accurate counterpunching at close range. In the ninth round, Márquez landed a succession of cleanly landed uppercuts on an unsteady Katsidis (who had already been staggered by an uppercut in the eighth), prompting referee Kenny Bayless to step in and halt the fight. Despite a third defeat for Katsidis, the fight went on to win HBO's award for 2010 Fight of the Year.