Matthysse's Trainer on Maidana, Danny Garcia, More

By Ben Jacobs

Lucas Matthysse and John Molina produced one of the fights of the year so far leaving many fans with a desire to see a rematch between the two hard-hitters.  Matthysse overcame two knockdowns to rally and stop the Californian in the eleventh round of a bout full of tremendous action.

BoxingScene caught up with Matthysse’s trainer, Luis ‘Cuty’ Barrera, who discussed the fight, Maidana versus Mayweather and plans for the future.

BoxingScene.com: What did you think of the Marcos Maidana-Floyd Mayweather fight?

Maidana did what he could with such a great champion in front of him like Mayweather.  I wanted ‘Chino’ to connect but it wasn’t possible.  Mayweather is very difficult to hit.  As much as Maidana wanted to connect clean, it’s difficult to do it against Mayweather.

BoxingScene.com: Could Maidana win if they have a rematch?

I don’t know.  I think only time can beat Mayweather.  Only his age and getting old can beat him.  He’s a great boxer and nobody can beat him.

BoxingScene.com: What are your thoughts looking back on the fight with Molina?

We actually planned for Lucas to start on the backfoot because having studied Molina he always goes at his opponents.  But against Lucas he did the opposite, he started on the backfoot!  He’s a good boxer, he punches hard and it was a great fight.  So Lucas then went after him, it was a lot of hard work and we had to use plan b.  He hit Lucas in the ear which made him lose his balance and then in the fifth he caught him behind the head.

Apart from the knockdowns, Lucas was winning the rounds.  With the work he was doing he would have won by four or five points had it gone to the scorecards. 

BoxingScene.com: Was Lucas genuinely hurt at any point during the fight?

He did feel a shot in the first round which connected on the cheekbone but after that, obviously as I said, his equilibrium was off after the first knockdown but he wasn’t hurt as such.  Nor was he hurt in the fifth round.  By the end, especially in the tenth, Lucas gave him an absolute beating.  I saw Molina’s corner was arguing with the doctor at the end of the tenth round.  The last three rounds were very hard for Molina.

BoxingScene.com: What did Lucas say to you afterwards?  Was he happy with his performance?

Yes, he was very happy because this was a way back to fight for the world title, against Danny García.  In the García fight he had a fracture and couldn’t see out of one of his eyes.  That greatly influenced the outcome of the fight.

BoxingScene.com: How badly do you all want the rematch with Danny García?

Well, hopefully in September it will happen.  It depends on whether the promoters come to an agreement.  Oscar de la Hoya told Lucas that he’d make the rematch, but we’ll see.  Lucas will actually come back on Wednesday and start some light training and be ready for September.  Right now he’s in his hometown of Trelew.  He wants to stay around his weight and not lose the condition he’s in.

BoxingScene.com: John Molina stated that he would like a rematch.  Is that feasible?

For us there’s no problem.  If Golden Boy say we have to rematch him, no problem.  But we want a title, when we win the title we’ll have a rematch for sure.

BoxingScene.com: Did you worry that the García fight would affect Lucas mentally?

No.  He is in a good way mentally; he showed that in this fight.  I don’t think the knockdown against García was a proper one.  He was in between the ropes, but the referee counted it and he is the authority in the ring.  That said, he only took a point away from García in the last round, when he could have taken some before as there were a lot of low blows.

BoxingScene.com: Did you think, like some observers, that Mauricio Herrera beat Danny García?

For me, Herrera won, but the judges are the ones who count.  I thought it was a very close fight but Herrera won.