The best/worst thing since the Super Six and Bantamweight Tournament

garcia43By James Le Blanc: Golden Boy has announced they will be holding a 4 man tournament at 140 pounds consisting of Zab Judah vs. Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson vs. Lucas Matthysse. The winners will fight each other and then the ultimate winner of the tournament will more than likely face Amir Khan.  Amir Khan is in the process of returning to 140lb supremacy after losing a controversial decision to Peterson and then a 4th round knockout loss to Danny Garcia. People have different takes on the Super Six tournament. One thing we know about the tournament is that it left out title holder Lucian Bute for some reason.

Bute is arguably not one of the best Super middleweights as Carl Froch made easy work of him post tournament. And then there were a number of fighters that backed out of fights and needed last minute replacements to ensure the tournament went on.

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Rios-Alvarado, Matthysse-Peterson, Garcia-Judah preview and analysis

rios22By Andrew Garewal: Arguably the most dangerous and exciting division in boxing today is at light welterweight. At 140 lbs, boxers possess uncanny speed, elusive footwork and explosive power. Nowhere in boxing is there such an array of talent in which multiple fighters could be crowned legitimate champions in their own right.

In other weight classes there is a recognized unified champion or it’s ruled by few respective champions. Heavyweights are dominated by the Klitschkos; super middleweight and middleweight is handled by Andre Ward and Sergio Martinez; Mayweather is at the helm of the junior middleweight and welterweight divisions; Broner has run through the super featherweight and lightweight divisions; Donaire and Rigondeaux are about to establish the leader at super bantamweight. No other division in boxing displays the competitiveness and uncertainty of a reigning king than that of light welterweight.

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Boxing’s Best to the Body Revisited

matthysse1By Andrew Garewal: Due to the large response and comments, I have decided to update the list to try and capture a consensus list. I have removed the rankings and will allow you all to comment on who you believe is the best. This list is composed of active fighters who are at or nearing their prime. You may believe some great boxers should be on here for their body work from the past, such as Miguel Cotto or Floyd Mayweather.

Well, Mayweather’s best display of body punching was last decade against Diego Corrales, and Miguel Cotto hasn’t thrown a body shot with bad intentions in three years. This list is composed of fighters still employing their body snatching tactics, and standout commitment to the damage their opponent’s frame.

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Boxing’s Best to the Body

alvarez922by Andrew Garewal: A critical part to the sweet science is the use of body shots. Hooks to the body can crack ribs, tear organs and expose a fighter upstairs. Straights and crosses are critical in setting up combinations to the head and establishing distance and strategy. Not only do body shots wear down an opponent, but it also limits the power and output which they can produce in later rounds.

Among fighters today, a few standout for their prolific attack to the opponent’s guts. This is my list of current top body punchers.

#1 Lucas Martin Matthysse 33(31)-2, Light Welterweight

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Hearn: Brook-Alexander fight on Peterson vs. Matthysse card on May 18th

alexander453434By Scott Gilfoid: Promoter Eddie Hearn is saying that his fighter unbeaten welterweight Kell Brook (29-0, 19 KO’s) will be fighting IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander (24-1, 13 KO’s) on May 18th on the undercard of the Lamont Peterson vs. Lucas Matthysse card in Washington, DC.

If they fight at the Convention Center they could draw a huge crowd of more than 10,000, and that is easily the best number you can get for a fight card like this in the United States.

Hearn said to I Film London “We’re [Kell Brook] looking at May 18th on the Peterson vs. Matthysse card in Washington, DC. I don’t care what day it is or where it is. I just want the result. I think he [Brook] was born to be champion, and it doesn’t matter if it’s 10 weeks later, he’s still going to get on the card.”

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Lamont Peterson’s next step

peterson#1By Ryan Wardle: Current IBF light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson ( 31-1-1, 16 KOs) successfully defended his title against Kendall Holt ( 28-6, 16 KOs), in his return to the ring on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. Peterson’s return comes after a 14 month layoff after testing positive for a banned substance. Kendall Holt is a former WBO light welterweight champion and was a good test for Peterson’s first fight in over a year.

The fight started with Holt winning the first few rounds but halfway through the 4th round Peterson began to warm up and landed a hard right hand that knocked Holt to the canvas. Peterson continued to control the bout and landed another knockdown in the 6th round.

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Schaefer wants Matthysse-Peterson on May 18th

matthysse324By Dan Ambrose: We could be seeing IBF light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson (31-1-1, 16 KO’s) facing WBC light welterweight interim champion Lucas Matthysse (33-2, 31 KO’s) on May 18th, according to Steve Kim.

Peterson defeated Kendall Holt by an 8th round TKO last night in Washington, DC in a mostly one-sided fight. Peterson came out of the fight without taking too much punishment, and his promoter Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions wants to get him back in the ring quickly to face Matthysse.

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Matthysse could be back in ring in April

matthysse45By Dan Ambrose: WBC interim light welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (33-2, 31 KO’s) could be back in the ring fighting on Showtime in April against a still to be determined opponent, according to Steve Kim.

Matthysse, 30, recently destroyed an over-matched Mike Dallas Jr. last month on January 26th in a 1st round knockout. The fight was so easy that Matthysse only got hit a tiny handful of times before he flattened Dallas Jr. with a hard right hand.

Matthysse doesn’t have an opponent yet, but it’s likely going to be another easy tune-up fight to keep him sharp before he challenges WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia later in the year. Matthysse may have to wait until Garcia beats Amir Khan in their rematch because that’s the fight that their promoter Golden Boy Promotions is pushing hard for. It’s a much bigger fight than Garcia vs. Matthysse.

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Matthysse vs. Dallas Jr. sells only 1,137 tickets

matthysse1By Dan Ambrose: The fight last month on January 26th between WBC light welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (33-2, 31 KO’s) and Mike Dallas Jr. (19-3-1, 8 KO’s) sold only 1,137 tickets at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to Dan Rafael.

Those aren’t good numbers if you’re a fan of Matthysse, and it may make it easier for the top light welterweights to choose not to fight Matthysse because he doesn’t have much of a fan base in the United States.

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Matthysse-Dallas Jr. drug tests come up negative

matthysse2By Allan Fox: The drug tests for last Saturday’s fight on Showtime between WBC interim light welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (33-2, 30 KO’s) and Mike Dallas Jr. (19-3-1, 8 KO’s) have come out negative for performance enhancing drugs.

This takes the heat out of suspicions of Dallas Jr’s trainer Virgil Hunter, who made a big production about spotting Matthysse drinking an amino acid beverage before his fight with Dallas Jr. ast Saturday. Matthysse was surprised by the fuss that Hunter was making out of it, and he predicted that his drug test results would be negative.

As for the fight, it really wasn’t much of a contest because Dallas Jr. was planked in the 1st round by a solid right hand from Matthysse that put Dallas Jr. down on his face on the canvas. The real question about the fight is why the light hitting Dallas Jr. made the decision to right after the hard hitting Matthysse in the 1st round instead of playing it safe to keep out of harm’s until later in the fight.

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