Lucas Matthysse is front-runner to fight Manny Pacquiao, says Bob — Boxing News

“He’s a really great opponent, really strong”, Postol, who is from Ukraine, said through a translator. “I didn’t plan on knocking him out”. “What can I say?” What was most surprising and impressive was that he was the better fighter on the inside, landing solid combinations in close range on Matthysse, discouraging any offense that the Argentine tried to start, and tying up when necessary.

Matthysse, who had beaten Ruslan Provodnikov in a Fight of the Year candidate earlier in the year and might have paid the price for that Saturday, fell to 37-4. He certainly has the physical advantages – he is 5-foot-11 and has a longer reach than the 5-6 Matthysse. Hyperbole usually reigns in pre-fight interviews but in Matthysse’s case, his words actually hew closer to the truth.

Viktor was eventually warned sternly by referee Jack Reiss for clinching.

Lucas Matthysse (left) and Viktol Postol at Friday’s weigh-in.

“My eye was shut and I felt it bad”. I’m going to continue to push myself in the ring, and that has always been my style. “I felt there was damage to my eye and I also didn’t feel my body”. Partida showed a good chin throughout the fight.

“He’s not the best”. Matthysse fired off his best shots of the night.

“I am the world champion because of Freddie and my other trainers at Wild Card”.

The stoppage came at the end of several rounds of excellent, measured boxing from Postol. If Crawford wins, a unification fight with Postol would determine the de facto king of the division.

What American fans knew about him was that he was a killer. “He is hard to fight against, Top Rank will have a lot of big fights scheduled for him”.

Matthysse’s urgency grew as the fight made its way to the middle rounds.

Postol became the mandatory challenger for the belt by virtue of a massive 11th-round knockout of longtime contender Selcuk Aydin in May 2014 in a world title eliminator.

The expectations should be sky-high for Postol after this bout.

Postol, 31, used superior tactics throughout the bout to keep the big-hitting Matthysse at bay to claim the vacant WBC super lightweight title in the process.

“I took a few hard shots but that’s why my nickname is ‘Iceman.’ I can take a punch”, Postol said.

The opening bout of the television broadcast will feature Mexican boxing veteran and former champion Humberto Soto against rising undefeated star Antonio Orozco of Mexico.

What are you most excited about entering Saturday’s fight? “It has been something we have been working for my entire career”.

“I am very happy to be fighting in the Los Angeles area for this fight”. “I like to look for a fight”. He did. After six, the 35-year-old Soto was still in the fight.

The way to beat Postol is by using a lot of pressure to get to him, and then not let him rest in the clinches. “He came prepared and this was a great learning experience for me”.

The arena was packed with fans chanting “LU-CAS, LU-CAS” as the the fight began in the center of the ring. The major benefit to seeing Soto attempt to string together offense was that he was able to force Orozco into mini firefights of varying exchanges. According to CompuBox punch statistics, Orozco landed 187 of 624 punches (30 percent) and Soto connected with 184 of 529 shots (35 percent).

Antonio Orozco (right) kept his ideal record intact with a decision over Humberto Soto Saturday.

Garcia floored Matthysse for the first time and ended the Argentine’s knockout streak, winning by a unanimous decision.

“I felt comfortable going into this fight”.

I’m prepared to be the kind of fighter that I need to be. I was fighting with just one eye. The judges, with all due respect, scored this fight wrong.

My whole family are fighters.