Photo by AP/Jae C. Hong
Lucas Matthysse is back in the ring this Saturday night on Showtime against John Molina Jr. at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California.
The Argentine Junior Welterweight contender is a favorite despite his disappointing loss against champion Danny Garcia.
Although Matthysse is in search of a rematch against the universally recognized Junior Welterweight champion, he must first get past a scrappy and tough-nosed opponent in Molina.
Matthysse must convincingly defeat Molina to find himself in contention for another title shot, after which he will almost certainly move up to 147 pounds, a move he has expressed interest in making.
Short-Term Memory
Photo by Hogan Photos
Last September, Lucas Matthysse was pummeled by Danny Garcia in a title defense, where he was outboxed and thoroughly dominated.
In a fight where Matthysse was a heavy favorite, Danny Garcia neutralized Matthysse’s notorious punching power with sound boxing, plucking away at his right eye until it was shut.
Garcia found success landing the jab and picking Matthysse apart with accuracy and patience, exposing Matthysse’s constant over aggressiveness and poor footwork, never allowing the Argentine to materialize any type of effective offense or establish a rhythm.
Garcia’s game plan rendered an ineffective, passive and simply weaker looking Matthysse, contrary to the slugger fight fans were accustomed to seeing.
Start Fast
Photo by Esther Lin/Showtime
In his previous fight, Lucas Matthysse quickly nestled into a shell and simply survived 12 rounds of domination.
While John Molina Jr. will likely be aggressive and look to set the pace, Matthysse must actively punch in bunches and establish dominance with his power. In doing so, Matthysse will not only dictate the pace of the fight, but also take advantage of Molina’s aggressiveness by landing power shots—potentially provoking a knockout.
Matthysse must creatively connect with combinations and continuously maintain pressure, actively seeking to push Molina back and force him to punch uncomfortably while moving backwards.
Footwork
Photo by Esther Lin/Showtime
Lucas Matthysse has performed well in his career despite consistently displaying awful footwork.
Against Danny Garcia, the lack of tiptoeing technique was made abundantly clear, as the champion stepped in, out and around of the pocket creating angles Matthysse could simply not be effective from.
Matthysse could not keep proper footing, adversely affecting his power.
While Garcia proved to be technically superior, if Matthysse can tidy up his footwork, there is no reason why a rematch for the title and ultimately, success at 147 pounds could not be reached.
Matthysse must regain his previous form if he–once again–wants to be considered among boxing’s elite.
