3. Start Fast/Control the Fight
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
It would be in Lucas Matthysse’s best interest to take control of the fight early on. A quick start could perhaps be the key to victory for Matthysse on April 18.
By being in control he can dictate the pace and determine when he may want to box Ruslan Provodnikov, knocking his initial plan for the fight off the table.
It would be dangerous for Matthysse if Provodnikov were to take control and walk him down in the ring. Since this is a high-risk fight, Matthysse needs to make sure he’s taking advantage of everything he can.
Backing his opponent up against the ropes is also very important. As a matter of fact he needs to do it as much as he can so that once he’s there he can unleash his punches and look to score a KO.
Matthysse cannot let Provodnikov force him into fighting his fight and going toe to toe–that is just suicidal. Matthysse has been knocked to the canvas in previous fights so he needs to be very careful and not put himself in a position where he could risk getting knocked down.
Provodnikov will be looking for a KO, so it’s very important that Matthysse doesn’t give him any huge openings to expose. If Matthysse sticks to his gameplan and doesn’t fall in the Russian’s trap of going toe to toe, he can outsmart him with his boxing skills and experience he’s gained throughout the tough fights he’s been in.
After having given us a tremendous Fight of the Year in 2014, Matthysse is determined to give the boxing world another matchup like they’ve never seen before.
Header photo by Stephanie Trapp
