By Peter Axline: In a brutal display of punching power, unbeaten light welterweight contender Subriel Matias (14-0, 14 KOs) stopped the previously unbeaten Maxim Dadashev (13-1, 11 KOs) in the 12th round in their IBF 140 pound title eliminator on Friday night at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. The match was stopped by Dadashev’s trainer Buddy McGirt before the start of the 12th round.
Should the fight have been stopped sooner?
The fight arguably should have been halted in the 11th round. That’s when Matias started really punish the tired and hurt Dadashev with huge shots the head and body. The match was no longer competitive after the 10th round, and it was difficult to watch Dadeshev take so many brutal shots without him being able to defend himself.
Matias = a new star in the making
Matias, who has an incredibly fan friendly style, wore the 28-year-old Dadashev down with his relentless pressure and hard body shots. Dadashev was hitting Matias with everything in the book, but he couldn’t keep the Puerto Rican knockout artist off of him. Matias was relentless with the way he attacked Dadashev. You’ve got to give Dadashev credit for being able to take the massive shots that Matias was hitting him with. A lot of fighters would have folded early from the onslaught from Matias.
It was like watching a Julio Cesar Chavez with the way Matias was blitzing Dadashev with his powerful body shots. Matias mixed his shots up beatifically, throwing to the head and body, and creating pure havoc for Dadashev. If Dadashev had some power, he would have given Matias something to think about when he was attacking. The power wasn’t there for Dadashev.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsP8lLALhZQ
The victory for Matias makes him the mandatory for IBF light welterweight champion Josh Taylor. There’s a chance that Matias could wind up facing Regis Prograis though, if he beats Taylor in the final of the World Boxing Super Series light welterweight tournament. Matias would need to defend better for him to beat a guy like Prograis.
McGirt compares Matias to Jarrett Hurd
After the fight, trainer McGirt compared Matias to former junior middleweight champion Jarrett Hurd, and said that he’s on his way to becoming a world champion at 140. It’s still too early to say for sure whether Matias can win a world title. You’d have to favor Matias if he fought IBF champ Josh Taylor, WBC belt holder Jose Carlos Ramirez or WBO champion Maurice Hooker. Matias’ relentless nonstop pressure style would work well against those champions. But against Regis Prograis, it would likely badly for Matias, because he can punch, and he’s incredibly accurate with his shots.