By Ben Jacobs
The sound of a noisy gym and background talk in rapid fire Argentine-accented Spanish greeted me when I spoke to Lucas Matthysse following an intense training session for the hard-punching Patagonian. His clash against the equally tough Russian, Ruslan Provodnikov on April 18 is one of the most anticipated match-ups in years, not least due to the style of both men who rarely engage in anything less than entertaining fights.
"I have a tough rival ahead of me," Matthysse conceded.
"He's a good name, it's a good fight both for him as well as myself. I have to be intelligent just as in all fights and have an intelligent strategy.
"I can't say he's the the hardest puncher I will have fought because I haven't been in the ring with him yet, but he has a good record."
Lucas revealed he was able to spend some quality time with his family following his two successful ring encounters last year while at the same time maintaining a good level of fitness during his off season.
"2014 was a good year, the Molina fight was tremendous," he reflected.
"The Ortíz fight was short but it was good for me. I had two fights in the United States which put me in a position again to have big fights, let's hope 2015 is good as well with more big fights.
"I have always said that I want to fight the best and I believe I have done that. This Provodnikov fight has made me happy and it will be a big card. He's the kind of name that motivates me.
"The comments about this fight have been really good, people are expecting a great fight. Everyone here in Argentina is excited and I've also looked on Facebook and people are happy with it."
While there was some hope that the WBO belt would be in play, that will now be contested by Terence Crawford and Thomas Dulorme. As of current standing this bout will be a non-title affair, something that slightly irritates Matthysse.
"I'm a bit annoyed that there won't be a world title on the line. Surely the governing bodies can see this is a big fight with two fighters who will face anyone in the ring. Let's hope they put a belt on the line or strip one of the champions who have been fighting lesser fighters. Now García is going to fight Peterson at a catch weight and the WBO title is vacant. I'm still happy with this big fight and by winning it I should have a chance for the world title."
As for his two old rivals, Lucas envisages a victory for the Philadelphian but speaks highly of the man he stopped in three rounds back in 2013.
"I think García will win, he's stronger. At the same time Peterson is a good boxer and one of the best at 140lbs. It will be a good fight. I beat Peterson and there was also no title on the line. In any case I want to fight the big names and I'm still happy doing that."
