Mayweather/ Canelo Undercard Preview
Garcia vs. Matthysse & Molina vs. Smith
By Tom Mauriello, Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Las Vegas, NV (September 11th, 2013)– Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few months, you know that the king of PPV Floyd Mayweather JR (44-0 (26KO’s) will defend his crown against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-0-1(30KO’s) for the WBC and WBA light Middleweight titles. While this fight is the reason for the MGM grand in Las Vegas to be sold out, and why we will all be tuning in to Showtime PPV Saturday night, there is another fight on the card that in my humbled opinion will steal the show. That fight will be between the hard hitting Argentinean Lucas Matthysse (34-2 30KO’s) and Danny “Swift” Garcia (26-0 (16KO’s) for the WBA Super World light Welterweight title as well as the WBC Light Welterweight title. This fight my friends, will be the one you will be talking about during the football games on Sunday.
Danny Garcia of Philadelphia has shown the welterweight division that he has the potential to be the top dog. After defeating Erik Morales via Unanimous Decision he went on to defeat Kendall Holt for a chance to brutally knock out Amir Kahn for the titles he will be defending this Saturday night. Garcia is the type of fighter that chooses his punches wisely and tries to systematically break you down. Garcia stalks you down and keeps you guessing. He throws looping punches and hooks, but follows them up with straight punches to keep you off guard. These straight punches are sharp and have pop; both Zab Judah and Erik Morales can attest to that as they were both put to the mat with straight right hands. He has an under rated body attack, and slick way of putting all these together into crisp combinations. He is a rhythm fighter who gains confidence as he moves through the rounds. If given the opportunity to get comfortable, he will dictate the fight and dominate.
My only issue with Garcia is that he fights wide, and that his best defense is his offense. His attack is well grounded and he sets it up with some movement in his shoulders, but still manages to get hit. Now it has been proven that Garcia has a solid chin. He has eaten the punches of Morales, Khan and Judah. Though these men can punch, none of them posses the power that Lucas Matthysse holds in each hand.
Lucas Matthysse has two Split Decision losses on his record to Devon Alexander and Zab Judah that have both come in controversial manner. He was criticized for being too patient in those fights, and that is why he came home with the losses. Well if you look at his record since the loss to Devon Alexander, he is no longer that patient fighter as he has racked up 6 stoppages since then, one of which being a brutal KO of Lamont Peterson. As you can tell with his record, Matthysse can punch! He has dynamite in both hands with great boxing skill to go along with that power. He throws punches in bunches and is relentless in his attack. This attack is compact and tight. He throws straight punches and once he sees you are hurt, he opens up with power shots to put you away.
Like Garcia, he too has a solid beard. Zab Judah was able to catch him flush on the chin with a vicious counter uppercut that Matthysse just walked right though. He also was able to stand and trade with the dangerous Olusegun Ajose in a slugfest where the two fighters exchanged till Ajose was finally put on the canvas by a big right hand.
Lucas Matthysse is a part of rare breed of fighters. He has it all, conditioning, power and boxing skill. What he lacks is defense. Just like Garcia his best defense is his offense. With the relentless attack that he has, he has the habit of getting wild, and gets hit while doing so. He knows he could box, and is very confident in his power as well as his chin. The most impressive part about Matthysse’s game is that he does not stop punching! He is willing to take punches while getting off his own. This is very dangerous considering that Garcia is a solid counter puncher and has put opponents down in exchanges.
As mentioned before, Garcia’s only issue is that he fights wide and with looping punches. Against a puncher like Matthysse you cannot get away with this. Matthysse counters very well, and makes you pay for your mistakes. Though Garcia has proven to have a solid chin, he has yet to be hit by someone with the same amount of power as Lucas Matthysse. Matthysse will put Danny on his back if he chooses to fight wide.
This fight is going to be a war as both fighters enjoy to stalk their opponents, have the will to get into violent exchanges, and are smart counter punchers with the ability to take hard punches and continue to force the fight to go their way. Styles make fights, and these two men have very entertaining styles. It will be a bloody ballet of violence with each man looking to put the other away. There is not soft way of fighting either opponent, you must lock horns and throw punches back; otherwise you will be dominated, or knocked unconscious. Garcia must not allow Matthysse to get off. He has to fight East and West, and not allow Matthysse to generate power. Though he does have great boxing skill, Matthysse does not have great footwork, which gives him a disadvantage against a fighter with great lateral movement. Fighting latterly is the only chance Garcia has to go home with a win.
I do not feel that Danny Garcia can be slick enough to evade the punches of Lucas Matthysse, nor does he have the discipline not to get into a slugfest with him. I also do not feel that he can out box him from the outside considering how well Matthysse cuts off the ring. I expect big punches from each side, but the end result will be another stoppage victory for Lucas Matthysse. He hits way to hard, and Garcia has was to many holes in his defense. In a fight that will ultimately end up being a war, you have to go with the puncher.
On the undercard we have The Money Team reprentative Ishe Smith (25-5 (11KO’s) taking on another crafty veteran Carlos Molina (21-5 (6KO’s) Both fighter have had their fare share of set backs but will now compete for the IBF Middleweight title.
Molina is an aggressive fighter who likes to work his way inside off the jab. He does not pack that big of a punch, but can frustrate Smith and get him away from his game plan. That bull mentality is what Molina will have to work off of in order to fluster Ishe.
Smith seems to be a new man since working with trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. Muhammad has Smith working on his hand speed and quickness. Smith looked phenomenal in his win against Cornelius Bundrage. Smith has improved on all aspects of his game, most importantly his defense and countering skills. I feel he will counter Molina’s attack, work around him and drop hard shots to the body that will ultimately set up bigger punches to the head. Smith must keep his composure and not allow Molina to throw him off the game plan. If he does this, I see Smith retaining his title via knockout.
Ashley Theophane (33-5 (10KO’s) out of England will show fans why he is the newest member of Floyd Mayweather’s stable as he takes on Pablo Cesar Cano (26-3 (20KO’s) It will be a night filled with action from top to bottom this Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, live on Showtime. Enjoy!
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