Byrd: Dallas Jr. fought the wrong fight against Matthysse

By Boxing News - 01/27/2013 - Comments

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By Allan Fox: Former heavyweight champion Chris Byrd correctly pointed out that challenger Mike Dallas Jr. (19-3-1, 8 KO’s) used the wrong fighting style tonight against WBC light welterweight interim champion Lucas Matthysse (33-2, 31 KO’s) in Dallas Jr’s 1st round knockout loss on Showtime at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Byrd thinks Dallas Jr. should have known better than to try and slug with a big puncher like Matthysse, and he thinks he should have hung back and boxed for 12 rounds.

Byrd said on his Youtube channel Byrd’s eye “I don’t know if the Dallas Jr. camp got the memo that Matthysse is a major puncher; Mike Dallas coming out rushing, rushing him, going forward like he’s pursuing an early knockout. He [Dallas Jr] had the reach advantage and amateur background; why wouldn’t you be patient, box, let the fight come to him and use angles and box….when you fight punchers, be patient.”

It’s pretty clear that Dallas Jr. made a huge mistake when he attempted to mix it up with Matthysse in the last 30 seconds of the 1st round. Dallas Jr. tried to throw some fast shots and Matthysse came over the top with a big right hand after Dallas Jr. had shot a couple of jabs out. The punch from Matthysse knocked Dallas Jr. out Manny Pacquiao style where he was planked on the canvas face down. That was a clinical knockout in the truest sense. There was no doubt about it.

I’m still not sure whether it would have ultimately made much of a difference if Dallas Jr. had fought a safety first fight. I think Matthysse still would have caught up to him and knocked him out because Matthysse had a huge size advantage in this fight.

Matthysse reportedly weighed in tonight at 163 pounds, which is 23 pounds over the 140 pound limit. Matthysse really bulked up after rehydrating, and he essentially was a middleweight in the ring. There was no way Dallas Jr. was going to last long against a fighter that big.



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