By Andrew Kemp: As we open 2015 with Tuscaloosa’s Deontay Wilder claiming the WBC strap, making him the first US Heavyweight Champion in nearly 8 years, ripples emerge from below the limelight of Heavyweight boxing. In fact these are not merely ripples, but the emergence of a tsunami in the Light Welterweight division.
Argentine hellhound Lucas Matthysse will face Russia’s Ruslan Provodnikov at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in what will undoubtedly be a major contender for fight of the year.
Matthysse has made it clear in no uncertain terms that 2015 will be strictly business as he pursues the vacant WBO title having failed to lure Danny ‘Swift’ Garcia into a voluntary rematch throughout last year. Unfortunately Garcia has publically stated that he has no desire to fight Matthysse until he is named mandatory challenger by the WBC. And who can blame him? Garcia endured a torrid time during his 2013 defence against Matthysse and later failed to prove wrong sceptical fans with both an appalling performance against Mauricio Herrera and lackluster opposition in Rod Salka.
But the tide has turned as two years of frustration end for the Latin American slugger. On 18th April fight fans will be treated to possibly the best piece of match making this year. An all-out slug fest looms on the horizon, two warriors battling for light-welterweight supremacy.
It doesn’t take a sports analyst to observe that both men hit hard, exceptionally hard. However, unlike Provodnikov it would be ignorant to label Matthysse a mindless power puncher. Matthysse has proven popular with hard core fight fans for a multitude of reasons, with speed, accuracy and excellent body work (as Roberto Ortiz regrettably discovered last time out) providing the foundations that support the dynamite he carries in both hands.
As of late Matthysse has been overshadowed on the global stage by fellow countryman Marcos Maidana, who ascended to boxing stardom with his Mayweather duology following an emphatic win over Adrien Broner, whose crass antics in and out of the ring have split public opinion, more often than not into negative territory. Humbleness was unfortunately not found in defeat for the 25 year old three time title holder, with Broner calling out Matthysse soon after stepping down to light-welterweight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFioETbislY
With future PPV fights such as Broner, Garcia and a higher poundage Terence Crawford available in the future for Matthysse, who in my humble opinion has demonstrated a superior boxing brain and one punch knockout power than Maidana, 18th April truly will provide the platform required for the redemption he longs for. But Matthysse must win, which is no easy feat when faced against an equally ferocious fighter like Provodnikov.
The pressure will truly be immense come fight night. Both men, each in their thirties, have held and subsequently lost world titles, in a division continuously overshadowed by the money and elite competition found at welterweight. Lucrative fights open their doors to the winner, whilst the looser faces at best mediocre purses, at worst retirement.
The grotesque cliché blood, sweat and tears has never been more appropriate. I expect to see knockdowns left, right and centre come 18th April, but in my humble opinion Matthysse will simply prove too accurate and skilful for the Siberian Rocky who has often looked flat footed and one dimensional in the past. One thing is for sure: this one won’t go the distance.
Roll on 18th April. I can’t wait for this one.
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