(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By Robert Earle Stanton: Saturday Night, April 26th, on Showtime’s double header of a great card we got to see a runner up if not fight of the year when Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse went to war with John “The Gladiator” Molina.
I predicted, as most, that Matthysse would make easy work over Molina even though Molina came in with a solid record of 27 wins with 22 KO’s and 4 losses (The biggest one for the WBC Lightweight title when he got TKO’d by Demarco in the first and that was at lightweight – this was a five pound higher division) yet he had only been knocked down once and did posses power – known as “The Comeback Kid” on Shobox last year they showed his last round KO victor over undefeated Mickey Bey who was winning the entire fight until in the last and final 10th round when Molina stopped him.
That wasn’t the first time Molina had pulled this – ask Philly’s Hammerin’ Hank Lundy who was way up on the scorecards in the 11th round of a 12 rounder on ESPN’s FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS. Lundy had the fight won and they started trading punches and the referee made a quick stoppage and from out of nowhere, John Molina was the winner and a couple weeks ago we were treated to Middleweight Curis Stevens stopping Johnson in the last round of a phone booth-esque fight he was losing.
So we knew Molina could hang, but we were hung up on a lightweight 1 round TKO loss he endured for the Lightweight title and hung up on the Machine that is Lucas Matthysse, who, even when not winning fights knocking opponents down (ie, Alexander, Judah) and this was Lucas Matthysse’s first comeback fight after his loss for the Jr Welterweight title where some thought he was the favorite going in against Philly’s Champion Danny Garcia (who will be moving up to Welterweight) in Lucas’ last outing in which the Machine of Matthysse even tasted the canvas.
The first round Molina came out strong, winning the round by rocking Matthysse with a hook. We were surprise at the aggressive nature of that first round by Molina and in the second he knocked down Matthysse – a round Matthysse was winning that went against him now 10-8. We were stunned and prepared for the 3rd and in that round there was a brawl beginning break out, a cut behind Molina’s ear and an accidental headbutt that put a bad cut on The Machine and in the forth Lucas hurt John Molina with a body shot – they were really going at it and you could see Matthysse coming back with his long right hand but then in the fifth round which Matthysee had won he got knocked down by Molina again. This was controversial because it was a behind the head shot, and since I don’t make up my own rules in scoring, I go by the book and even though Matthysse dominated the round and got a controversial knockdown it was ruled a knockdown so Molina gets another 10-8 round or 10-9 or other variables depending on your politics – point being, it’s an even fight but we’re stunned by The Machine dropped twice and at how comfortable and good Molina looks.
The next round Matthysse took but got hurt by Molina and by the sixth we were watching a bloody war take place which in the seventh ended up having Molina get knocked down for only the second time in his career. It was ruled a knockdown, but it was really a punch and then a push off by Lucas, yet a 10-8 round for him. The crowd was loving the 9th in which it was a back and forth bloody battle and Molina got the worst of it. So going into the 10th of the 12 rounder I had it a pretty even fight – Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse up by a point but you felt some sense of impending doom from the punishment Molina started taking and the look not just on his, but Lucas’ bloody face.
In the 10th round is when things changed. We had more of the same war, but toward the end Molina hitting the canvas for the second time in the fight – both now even on two knockdowns each, but it was Molina getting up slow, dazed, and bloody. In the corner before the 11th The Referee was telling Molina he was getting ready to stop it and for a second we almost thought the Doctor would but he went away after legendary Trainer Joe Goosen said, “Who the fuck are you?” and then gave instructions akin to the ones we heard in the legendary Corrales-Castillo fight when Goosen said, “Alright,” and again this time in not as calm of a way gave John instructions that called for him to go all out and hey, he is the comeback kid and he followed the instructions going into the 11th of 12.
At the time my scorecard read 94-93 in favor of Matthysse but Lucas “The Machine” would hop right on him and the referee would save Molina from more abuse just 22 seconds into the 11th.
Lucas Matthysse gets interviewed first, as all winners do, and he was the first to say they should have a rematch and Molina, “It was a fight of the year,” – yet prior he said something I’ve never heard a guy getting an L on his record say,
“I felt like I was known. Now I feel like I’m really known.”
And then, “I think we should do it again.”
THE PHILLY SIDE NOTES: A rematch? Maybe. Why not? The fight really helped out Philadelphian Lightweight/Jr. Welterweight contender Hammerin’ Hank Lundy (24-3-1) who has been in there with the best (he beat Ring Ranked number 2 title holder Richar Abril years ago and has been in the ring with two other Ring Ranked Jr Welters and knocked out David Diaz cold in his hometown, faster than Pacquiao beat him) As I mentioned before he was up 98-92 on two scorecards against John Molina on FNF’s a couple years ago and in the 11th they started trading and the referee made a premature stoppage. After that Molina got a lightweight title shot where he got KO’d in 1 round by DeMarco (who Broner knocked out and Broner sparred with Hank prior to the “Maidana Fight”) so Matthysse at his Jr Welter weight even though in winning, I only had up 1 point, where Lundy was schooling Molina. Also Lundy was supposed to face Matthysee (there’s still a trailer on youtube) but that fell apart and the rumors of a fight between Karim Mayfield and Lundy have been circulating for a while now and Mayfield just lost. As for Lundy’s last fight he schooled and even dropped “supposed upcoming lightweight sensation” Santana making a comeback from his firs defeat and Lundy schooled him, even dropping him. So this makes Lundy look really good and Lundy has a date but will not announce his oppoent yet. Mayfield made Huerra look good also, having an easy time with him, who Garica fought in his last fight and got a W though many though the opposite.
We were also talking Stevens-Johnson and Stevens-Kirland. Now Glen Tapia (who got his first loss and beat down by Kirkland) and Ruslan Provodnikov have open dates around the same time. I don’t know about Glen Tapia and his Jr Middleweight situation, and it would be a comeback fight, but Lundy also went to the Ukraine to fight Ukrainian undefeated Victor Postol (Lundy has proven he will fight anyone, anywhere, at any time) So we’ll see what comes from all of this.
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