By Ryan Burton
Lucas Matthysse developed a cult following last year after his highlight reel knockouts of Mike Dallas and Lamont Peterson. On April 26th, he will return to the ring against John Molina Jr. in Southern California. Molina has a lot of respect for Matthysse but feels their fight will be a lot different because of Molina's size advantage. Even though he is coming up in weight, Molina is a lot taller and has a longer reach than the Argentine.
Molina was originally going to face three division champion Adrien Broner but his team opted to face the lighter hitting Carlos Molina instead. Matthysse and John Molina are both fighters who like to come forward and for that reason Molina said that he believes he matches up better with Matthysse than he would have against Broner.
"I believe that stylistically it is a better fight for me given the fact that I won't have to go find him, he will be right there for me. People keep saying he is a natural 140 pounder and that he is a big puncher and of course we know that. We go into this fight knowing that he is a devastating puncher but I like to think that I am as well. I think my track record speaks for itself. They say he is the bigger guy but you have to remember that he is 5'6.5" with a 69" reach and I am 5'10.5" with a 73" reach, so I believe that I will be the physically bigger man. Yeah he has been at that weight lot longer than me but I believe come fight night that won't matter and we will both be about the same weight and I physically will be the bigger man," Molina reasoned.
The 31-year-old Molina said that he was impressed with Matthysse's victory over IBF junior welterweight champion Lamont Peterson but that some of his other victories may be a little overrated.
Molina also said that Matthysse looked good against former multi-division champions Devon Alexander and Zab Judah and feels that he may have deserved to get the wins in those fights.
"Lamont Peterson is definitely a top 10 guy, especially in the division. Speaking of stature, I don't think he was big enough to go in there and get in a shootout with a devastating puncher like Lucas Matthysse. He is what, 5'7"? He isn't big enough to fight that type of fight. I believe I am bigger and stronger than these guys. Is he a monster because he knocked out Mike Dallas? All due respect to Mike Dallas but I don't think he was ready for that fight.
"You do have to give Matthysse credit though. He fought those guys plus guys like Devon Alexander and Zab Judah and maybe he should have gotten the W over those guys. I like my guns in this fight. I like the fact that I am not going to have to chase him down like I had to against Hank Lundy and Mickey Bey. The fans are really going to get their monies worth," Molina told BoxingScene.com.
Send questions or comments to ringsidewriter@gmail.com . You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter
