Subriel Matias assumes he will have plenty of options now that he owns one of boxing’s recognized junior welterweight titles.
Regis Prograis was the only name Matias mentioned on his own during his post-fight press conference late Saturday night in Minneapolis, but the IBF 140-pound champion made it clear he will fight anyone in their division. One reporter specifically asked Puerto Rico’s Matias following his technical knockout of Jeremias Ponce if he would welcome fights against Teofimo Lopez, Gervonta Davis or Ryan Garcia.
“Bring on anybody,” Matias said, according to his translator. “I’m not afraid of anyone, so bring ‘em on.”
Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) and Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) are set to square off in a 12-round, 136-pound pay-per-view showdown April 22 at a venue to be determined in Las Vegas. Though they’ll fight at a lower weight, Baltimore’s Davis and Garcia, of Victorville, California, have both boxed at the junior welterweight division’s 140-pound limit.
Brooklyn’s Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs) will challenge Josh Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs) for the Scottish southpaw’s WBO junior welterweight title June 10 at Madison Square Garden or MSG’s Hulu Theater.
One opponent Matias seemed less interested in facing is unbeaten WBA super lightweight champ Alberto Puello. Matias (19-1, 19 KOs) and Puello (21-0, 10 KOs) both work with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, which would make their fight relatively easy to put together.
The Dominican Republic’s Puello is expected to make the first defense of his 140-pound crown against Rolando Romero (14-1, 12 KOs) on a date to be determined in May.
“I really hope that Puello goes somewhere else [for a fight] because I don’t wanna be his enemy,” Matias said. “I don’t have the same kind of [animosity] against him that I have against Prograis. And I think that Puello’s gonna do big things on his own without having to face me.”
The 30-year-old Matias dropped Argentina’s Ponce (30-1, 20 KOs) toward the end of the fifth round of their fan-friendly firefight Saturday night at The Armory. Ponce’s trainer instructed referee Mark Nelson to stop their 12-round bout before the sixth round began.
Matias wasted little time afterward calling out Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs), the WBC super lightweight champion.
“I have a message and I want you all to just spread it far and wide,” Matias said. “Prograis, I’m coming for you. I’m the world champ now. And I promise you, I’m gonna send you to the hospital. So, get ready.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.