Don’t believe the hype, Matthysse will fall

By KenWoods123 - 08/15/2013 - Comments

matthysse55By Ken Woods:  The fight between Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse is one of the most anticipated of the year. This bout will show which fighter is truly elite in the junior welterweight division on September 14.

After Matthysse’s destruction of Lamont Peterson, many in the boxing world began to believe the hype that he was just going to beat all of his future foes up in a similar fashion. His hype train will come to a screeching halt when he steps in the ring with Garcia. That’s right, I said it.

Matthysse is a great power puncher with power in both hands; however, that is the extent of his prowess in the ring. He is one dimensional with limited footwork and defense. He is not technically sound, doesn’t have good head movement, and often throws wide looping punches. In his last fight, he literally fell to the ground trying to swing at his opponent. He has been successful to this point with opponents that have little boxing ability.

His two losses to Zab Judah and Devon Alexander were close, but those bouts showed he struggles with boxers that use the jab, move laterally, and counter punch.

Garcia has the ability to box, although he doesn’t always show it in his bouts. One thing he does very well, which will be big trouble for Matthysse, is counter punch. Matthysse got caught with counters in both his losses all night. Garcia knocked both Erik Morales and Amir Khan out with counter shots. He also knocked Judah down with a counter punch.

Garcia will have to use his footwork and pump the jab in addition to countering. If he does that he will make be effective against Matthysse. However, Garcia doesn’t always stay disciplined enough to do this throughout the bout. He can get lured into exchanging, which will benefit Matthysse.

This will by no means be an easy bout for Garcia, but he will box more than fight and limit trading with Matthysse. Garcia may get caught with something early and hit the canvas, but he will recover to box successfully for the rest of the fight.

This match has the potential for both fighters to hit the deck at some point, which is what makes it an exciting contest. Contrary to popular belief, the bout will go the distance with Garcia edging out a unanimous decision.

Garcia is the more skilled of the two and is more versatile. Neither boxer is slick or fleet of foot, but Garcia is more technically sound. This will be the difference in the fight.



Comments are closed.