The power that Lucas Matthysse (39-4, 35 KOs) flashed throughout his career came alive in the eighth round when Tewa Kiram (37-1, 27 KOs) hit the canvas on a right hand to the temple.
Matthysse dropped Kiram for a second time to win by knockout and capture the WBA Welterweight World title in HBO Boxing After Dark main event on Saturday night, January 27, 2018 in Inglewood, California.
At the time of the KO, Matthysse was ahead, 69-64 and 68-65 on two cards while the third card had Kiram up 68-65. It appeared Kiram didn’t want anymore of Matthysse’s power as he seemed to go down a few seconds after the KO punch landed.
All photos by Tom Hogan-Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions
The bigger Kiram used his size to keep the aggressive Matthysse outside but he kept coming forward as the crowd booed the lackluster performance. Matthysse looked sluggish at times but continued to stalk Kiram.
“He moved really well, and he was really big,” said Matthysse. “That’s why it was hard to cut the distance.”
Kiram, who was fighting outside of Thailand for the first time, used his left jab well in the early rounds but couldn’t land anything with power. Matthysse landed 59 of 246 punches while Kiram landed 55 of 277 according to CompuBox.
“I didn’t feel his power, so that’s why I was able to find him later and stop him,” said Matthysse. “I’m really happy.”
Matthysse became the mandatory challenger to Keith Thurman by claiming the secondary 147-pound title but there’s a couple other fights he wants first.
“I’m here for the best and biggest names, said Matthysse.”I want the rematch with Danny Garcia or Manny Pacquiao. Those are the big fights I want, though of course that will be up to Mario Arano and Golden Boy Promotions.”
