Lucas Matthysse-Viktor Postol: Pre-Fight Report Card

By Cliff Rold

Anytime he steps in the ring, Argentina’s Lucas Matthysse is just one of those guys to clear the calendar for. He makes good fights. He makes good highlights.

More often than not, he makes guys go to sleep.

It isn’t always the case, especially against the better caliber of foes. Many thought he did enough to defeat Devon Alexander and Zab Judah; both those fights went the route. He came up short against Danny Garcia. He battled through punishing late surges from Ruslan Provodnikov earlier this year to hold for a points win.

Where does Viktor Postol fall on the quality scale? So far, he looks good but with career best wins over Hank Lundy and Selcuk Aydin, the jury is still out. This is the proving ground for the Ukrainian.

Both men are widely seen as among the ten best Jr. Welterweights in the game, with Matthysse as the leading contender to fill the historical throne left vacant by Danny Garcia. The winner will exit with the currently vacant WBC belt at 140 lbs. HBO appears to have a fine main event Saturday night (10:15 EST).
 
Let’s go to the report card.

The Ledger

Lucas Matthysse
Age: 32
Title/Previous Titles: None
Height: 5’6 ½
Weight: 139.4 lbs. 

Hails from: Junin, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Record: 37-3, 34 KO
Rankings: #1 (BoxingScene, TBRB, Ring, ESPN), #2 (BoxRec)
Record in Major Title Fights: 0-1 (3-1, 3 KO in interim title fights)
Current/Former World Champions Faced: 8 (Vivian Harris TKO4; Zab Judah L12; DeMarcus Corley TKO8; Devon Alexander L10; Humberto Soto RTD5; Lamont Peterson TKO3; Danny Garcia L12; Ruslan Provodnikov MD12)

Vs.

Viktor Postol
Age: 31
Title/Previous Titles: None
Height: 5’11
Weight: 139.4 lbs.
Hails from: Kiev, Ukraine
Record: 27-0, 11 KO
Rankings: #4 (BoxRec), #7 (Ring), #8 (BoxingScene, TBRB, ESPN)
Record in Major Title Fights: 1st Major Title Fight
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 1 (DeMarcus Corley UD12)

Grades

Pre-Fight: Speed – Matthysse B+; Postol B-
Pre-Fight: Power – Matthysse A; Postol B
Pre-Fight: Defense – Matthysse B; Postol B
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Matthysse A; Postol B+

Matthysse has a big reputation as a puncher but against better foes he’s seemed more heavy handed hurt machine than one-punch artist. He makes up for it with deceptive boxing ability. He’s not always orthodox but Matthysse throws effective, quick combinations. He sticks with his jab and, while hittable, defends well upstairs.

He’s going to need to defend because Postol is going to have a lot of room to find the head of Matthysse. Postol is considerably taller and tends to fight tall. He has a long jab and uses it to set up an accurate right hand. In close, Postol goes to the body and has a wicked uppercut. Selcuk Aydin can attest to that.

The knockout finish to Aydin is the limited exposure most of the US audience has to Postol. Anyone looking for more of that might find it a bit of a mirage. Postol isn’t typically a big puncher. He’s a distance fighter used to going ten and twelve rounds.

Matthysse hasn’t had a ton of luck in twelve round fights. Three of his four fights that went the full route went against him. If Postol can establish the range, and control it, he can make it four out of five. Keeping Matthysse pinned down is tough work. Postol might be more comfortable outside but he’s not shy about stepping in.

Stepping inside means getting within range of Matthysse’s power. Matthysse will have to time Postol and add injury to the body to slow him down and get a the clear shots to the head that could pay the biggest dividends. Will he? 

This fight carries intrigue based on styles, the height difference, and the unknown. Postol is clearly pretty good but there isn’t enough on his ledger to say just how good yet. Matthysse, at 32, is going for his first outright major title even if it feels like he’s been in the title picture for years. That has to be motivating. For Postol, a bad loss might push him away from major TV slots so his motivation will be high as well. 

The Pick

The fight that comes to mind a little bit heading into this one is Sergio Martinez-Serhiy Dzinziruk a few years ago at Middleweight. Dzinziruk had gained some esteem as a Jr. Middleweight titlist and had a lesser but still evident height edge. Ultimately, Martinez’s greater experience against better foes and more diverse toolbox meant victory.

Matthysse has a big edge in experience here. If he were just a slugger, Postol might be the upset pick. Matthysse is more than that. He showed against Alexander, in a controversial decision loss, that he could outbox a boxer for long tracks. Garcia kept him off balance but Garcia has shown his left hook is a serious weapon.

Postol should have some good rounds early but he’s going to get touched and that will add up. As the fight wears on, Matthysse will be landing more and harder. Postol will put up a good fight but he doesn’t have the power to keep Matthysse at bay all night and he’s never taken shots like Matthysse can throw even deep into a fight. The pick is Matthysse by decision or late rounds stoppage. 

Report Card and Staff Picks 2015: 75-20

Cliff’s Notes…

Having come in a pound and a half under the Jr. Welterweight limit, it’s hard not to like Adrien Broner (30-2, 22 KO) on Saturday night on Showtime (10 PM EST). Former WBA sub-titlist Khabib Allakhverdiev (19-1, 9 KO) is fundamentally sound but without much power, and 18 months of ring rust, it’s hard to see his path to victory over a Broner that appears focused. The pick is Broner by a late rounds stoppage…On the undercard, looking for Jose Pedraza (20-0, 12 KO) to score a decision win over Edner Cherry (34-6-2, 19 KO) for Pedraza’s first title defense at 130 lbs…On the HBO undercard, the pick is for youth to be served. Veteran Humberto Soto (65-8-2, 35 KO) has won seven straight and had a nice win over John Molina last year. That could be a smokescreen, as Molina has looked a little shell-shocked since his war with Matthysse. Antonio Orozco (22-0, 15 KO), only 22, launches on Saturday night with a big win on points.

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com