Editorials

Lucas Matthysse: The Machine Gets Back to Work

Lou Catalano takes a look at the hard-hitting Argentine, Lucas Matthysse, who looks to have a huge performance on Showtime Saturday night.

Lucas Matthysse Tom Casino Photo By Tom Casino

We knew Lucas Matthysse vs. John Molina was going to be fun. We just didn’t know it was going to be that much fun. When the two monster punchers squared off back in April, Matthysse was looking to rebound from a disappointing loss to 140-pound champ, Danny Garcia.

Molina was trying to make the most of an opportunity he never thought he’d get after a crushing first-round loss to Tony DeMarco back in 2012. It turned out that both fighters succeeded.

Matthysse will never be known for his slick boxing skills or impenetrable defense. He’s been befuddled by the likes of Devon Alexander, Zab Judah and thoroughly outboxed in the second half of his fight with Garcia.

But even in those losses, there was a sense that the Argentine fighter could’ve ended things with one shot. He had Alexander down in their fight, but couldn’t catch him again. And though he was outboxed by Judah early in their fight, Judah was holding on for dear life at the end.

Even Garcia, who knocked Matthysse down for the first time in his career, was the one being stalked before and after the knockdown.

Molina can’t box all that well, and his defense is brutal. But you don’t make it this far in the sport without having something special. What he has, is wrecking ball power. It was that power that helped to provide us with one of the best fights of the year. That power did something that had never been done before–it hurt Lucas Matthysse. Badly.

What we got then was a front row view of how “The Machine” responds when the pain is being inflicted upon him. Turns out, he responds pretty damn well. Badly hurt in the second round, down again in the fifth, and bleeding from a cut over his left eye, Matthysse did the only thing he could do–he punched back.

What started out as a two-way brawl between home run hitters eventually turned into a pretty serious one-sided beating. Molina, who appeared as though he’d be comfortable as a Light Heavyweight, just couldn’t hold up. Matthysse broke him down and ended him in the 11th round.

Matthysse got his knockout victory, but he seemed to narrowly avert disaster. He was coming off a loss in which he didn’t look all that great, and being knocked out would have been absolutely crippling to his career. He was able to secure the win, but going into Saturday’s fight with Roberto Ortiz on Showtime, we’re left with some serious questions about him. The biggest one? Just how good is Matthysse?

Throughout his career, he’s fluctuated between unstoppable cannonball who will murder anything put in front of him, to hard-hitting brawler who will be outboxed by the elite. We’ve seen him knock Lamont Peterson’s skull into the 30th row. But we’ve also seen him taken to school by Judah.

Perhaps that is what we’ll always get out of him–the occasional stellar performance from a guy who will fall just short of elite. Or maybe he simply needs to be matched just right–avoid the slick southpaws like Alexander, or the defensive wizards like Mayweather. But stick him in there with Marcos Maidana? Someone would need to clean off Mauro Ranallo’s pants in between rounds.

The reality is that we don’t really care if Matthysse ever makes it to the top. He’s must-see entertainment regardless of opponent. He’s one of the hardest punchers in all of boxing. But we already knew that. We know now that he’ll go through hell to get a win as well. Those are two key ingredients to being a star in this sport.

We may only see one of those traits Saturday. His opponent, Ortiz, is undefeated. But he’s fought absolutely no one of note. Perhaps he’s quite skilled. Indeed, nobody had really known of Matthysse himself before his performance against Judah. Or, perhaps he’s just a tailor-made opponent, another showcase fight that Showtime seems so content to give us despite making us loathe the network. And ourselves a little bit.

Either way, we know what Matthysse will bring–pain. He’ll come to seek and destroy as he always does. If he gets another stellar knockout, we can salivate over potential bouts with Maidana, Broner, or frankly anyone else with a pulse.

He’ll never be Roberto Duran, but we’ll settle for a guy who brings the knockout power, and doesn’t mind taking some shots to get his man out of there.

Some Random Notes From The Boxing World:

J'Leon Love 2 - Stephanie Trapp Photo by Stephanie Trapp/Showtime

J’Leon Love was knocked out by a guy named Porky. Rogelio “Porky” Medina may have done us the ultimate favor–by drilling a relentlessly overhyped and vastly overrated fighter, he at least got Love off of our tv screens for the time being. It also provided us with a television gem–the sight of Leonard Ellerbe’s intestines rupturing while everyone around him collapsed in agony was priceless.

He took it in stride, but it has to be horribly disconcerting for Floyd Mayweather to look at his promotional stable and realize that the only fighter that makes his company even remotely viable is himself.

The addition of Nonito Donaire vs. Nicholas Walters to the GGG card should make everybody giddy with excitement. This fight two years ago ends brutally for Walters, but now I’m not so sure. Donaire still has big-time power, but has looked lost lately otherwise.

Peter Quillen has asked the WBO for an extension so he can remain irrelevant for a little longer. It’s probably wise to delay that knockout loss for as long as possible.

Jean Pascal has taken to questioning Adonis Stevenson’s manhood in order to goad him into a fight, but NOBODY does that to Superman. He’ll fight a complete stiff who has no chance of winning when he’s good and ready, dammit. Or least until Al Haymon tells him he is. Not a minute sooner.

Manny Pacquiao and Chris Algieri have teamed up for what I call the “Summer Of Love” press tour. Seriously, anyone who doesn’t know boxing would think these two are promoting an upcoming buddy-action flick. Stop. Smiling.

Weird how all this renewed Pacquiao/Mayweather talk happens before both guys are due to fight in events that have been greeted with a lukewarm reception at best. 4,000-year-old vampire Bob Arum is assuring us that there MIGHT EVEN BE TWO FIGHTS next year between the two greats. Nevermind that there is zero chance of even ONE fight happening. Ever.

As for Floyd, it baffles me as to why an all-time-great like himself, who has rarely been hit clean in his entire career, is acting like Maidana is preparing to come into the ring dressed as Wolverine. They’re legal gloves Floyd, not spiked gauntlets.

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