By Jordan Echavez
The biggest boxing pay-per-view event in recent memory is fast approaching. With the amount of media coverage Golden Boy Promotions’ “The One” has been receiving for the Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez bout, it seems that Danny Garcia (26-0, 16 KOs) vs. Lucas Matthysse (34-2, 32 KOs) has been holding its own and has been able to gain the interest of casual and hardcore fans alike.
The people understand that this fight is a big deal.
Matthysse has been on a no-nonsense mission to the top since his controversial decision loss to Devon Alexander in 2011. The “War Machine” went on to knock out every opponent in front of him since that loss and has no plans on leaving his next fight in the hands of the judges.
His last fight—which was supposed to be his biggest test against Lamont Peterson—was an exclamation point to people, letting everyone in the boxing world know that he meant business as he impressively knocked out the Washington, DC fighter in three rounds.
This performance put Matthysse in position for a clash against the current boss of the Light Welterweight division, Garcia.
Garcia made his claim to fame by winning the WBC belt against Erik Morales in a tough fight in March of 2012.
However, only a few months later, Swift would become a last minute replacement fighter against then 140 pound kingpin, Amir Khan.
Danny Garcia shocked the world and managed to knockout “King Khan” in four rounds. Thanks to that big victory, his stock sky rocketed. Since then, the Philly fighter has looked impressive in two crowd pleasing performances.
His last fight was against Zab Judah, who has a close, but controversial split-decision win over Matthysse. Garcia would dominate the first eight rounds against “Super Judah”, wobbling him several times and even dropping the Brooklynite once.
Judah caught a second wind in the last few rounds of the bout, but it was too little too late as Garcia took the unanimous decision victory.
Matthysse and Garcia are two fighters in their prime and both have been on a hot streak as of late. However, at the moment, Matthysse is actually close to a three-to-one betting favorite over Garcia.
Many of the boxing fans I spoke to do not give Garcia much of a chance in winning against the Argentine. Now, from a political standpoint, my guess is that Golden Boy would want Garcia to win being that he is the more well-known name and maybe they can put Swift in position for a future clash against Floyd Mayweather.
Maybe this can sway the judges, maybe not. I personally believe that this is a 50/50 fight. The one fighter on their resume that they both have in common is Judah.
Judah—even though he put up a tough fight—clearly lost to Danny. But against Matthysse, it was close enough to go both ways, but he did end up with the win. Just food for thought, but I do try not to use past performances as a measuring stick to make a predictions because I’m a believer in styles making fights.
It is in that category where I feel that this is going to be an even fight. Matthysse is a pressure fighter with excellent power—as his record would show—while Garcia is a boxer who has excellent timing.
If Matthysse were to get reckless, Garcia will be able to capitalize. After all, Garcia does have power in both hands too.
Another factor would be the fact that Matthysse hasn’t been in a 12-round bout since 2010, while Garcia is fresh off of one in his last bout.
On top of that, Matthysse has to know that this fight can only end in a knockout if he wants to win, since his luck with the judges has never been very good. There is no other option for the War Machine.
Will Matthysse be able to apply the pressure strong enough to make his opponent fall? Or will Garcia be able to outbox and possibly even knock his foe out?
Don’t sleep on Danny Garcia. Make no mistake about it, this is a tough fight to call. But, it’s all just speculation until September 14 when the truth will come out and the true 140 pound king will be crowned.
