Left-Hook Lounge: Mayweather’s Greatness, C.J. Ross, & Danny Garcia’s Future!!!

004 Mayweather vv Canelo IMG_9669Jeff H. (Orlando, FL): I thought Mayweather’s effort was an amazing one. The limited time off seemed to only help his reflexes and sharpness. How did you rate his performance and what do you see next for him?

Vivek W. (ESB): I plan to elaborate on a very deep level about Mayweather a little later in the week in a separate piece. But in short context, I would just have to say that yet again, he proved to the masses precisely how strong of a talent he truly is. It’s one thing to acknowledge how gifted he is. But what amazes me to a depth that knows no end is the fact that this is a man who has done everything from party like a rock star to take two year lay-offs, and in between; yet the level in which he performs is still light years ahead of anyone in the sport. All at the ripe age of 36. A point in which every other fighter (not named Hopkins) is winding down.

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THE ONE Post-Fight Press Conference: Aftermath, Quotes & Photos

canelo7657If this were baseball, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. just pitched a no-hitter.

Fight week in Las Vegas, NV for the biggest boxing event of the year ended on Saturday with another stellar performance by the Pound for Pound king. In front of a pro-Canelo crowd, “Money” Mayweather tamed the Mexican superstar en route to a 12 round decision. Skills certainly pay the bills for Mayweather. Speed, accuracy, precise counter punching, ring generalship…you name it. It was another showcase fight.

Earlier in April of this year, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez unified the WBA Light Middleweight title against Austin Trout and established himself as “the man to beat” at the division. Mayweather just beat the man of the division. At 36 years of age and four more fights left on his exclusive Showtime contract, Mayweather is running out of opponents as he continues to make things look easy. Regardless of who Mayweather chooses to fight next, you can bet the world will still be tuning in.

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Mayweather is Right About One Thing; Garcia vs. Matthysse Ending is a Surprise

03Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. or “The One” or TBE (the best ever) if you prefer, is right about being one of the best ever. He describes his abilities accurately when he says fighters always come against him with a plan, but as soon as the fight starts, the plan goes out the window. Money leaves the ring with another win and a wad of cash. So far, no one has been able to carry out their plan and come away with a win.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (and his fans) was certain he had a good plan, and even alternatives if the first one didn’t work. He felt he was “the one” with the necessary skills to carry it out. When the opening bell sounded, both men cautiously circled one another, wary of possible danger. Canelo tried to establish his jab, and sent a few rights to the body. Mayweather countered with his own jab, and both men started to feint.

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Danny Garcia Outpoints Lucas Matthysse

GarciaMatthysse_Hoganphotos1 Danny Garcia retained the unified super lightweight world title with an impressive performance against the favored Lucas Matthysse. Utilizing solid combinations and body shots, Garcia executed a solid game plan en route to a unanimous decision (115-111, 114-112, twice).

Matthysse (34-3, 32 KO’s) entered the fight having knocked out five of his last six opponents and a reputation as one of the most feared punchers on the planet. But the Argentinean knockout artist’s power wasn’t as apparent against the aggressive Garcia (27-0, 16 KO’s), who silenced his doubters and defended his WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Titles.

Seemingly down on points, Matthysse came out with a vengeance in the eleventh to kick off the championship rounds, knocking Garcia’s mouthpiece out with a powerful straight right.

But, after a brief pause to recover the mouthpiece, Garcia bounced back and floored Matthysse for the first time in his career.

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Danny Garcia defeats Matthysse

009 Garcia vs Matthysse IMG_8137Danny Garcia Fights For His 0, Successfully Earning Another W

Unfortunately, despite heavy effort, the sports did not fly the way they were expected in this fight until the last couple of rounds. Both fighters had their moments, but it seemed that the urgency took charge in round 9-12, where both men went to work.

Garcia lost his possible 1 point advantage for dropping Matthysse when that same 1 point was deducted from his score due to the low blow.

I would like to call it a close fight, but due to the last few rounds, where Matthysse had clearly faded squeezing the last drops of his remaining stamina, Lucas was ripe for the picking.

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Garcia vs. Matthysse: “Head to Head”

matthysse333In what should be one of the more explosive bouts fight fans have seen in a while, Lucas Matthysse will attempt to take Danny Garcia’s universally recognized title as the best 140 pound fighter on the planet.

It’s a real shame that this match-up has gone under the radar of the mainstream consciousness. But both fighters will get their chance to make a lasting impression on the casual fans of boxing as they tangle in the co-main event of tonight’s fantastic PPV event.

While most ringside observers have dubbed Matthysse to be the overwhelming favorite in the highly anticipated Junior Welterweight war, Danny’s outspoken father and head trainer has clearly taken exception to the media’s lofty praise of the hard hitting Argentine.

In the immortal words of the incomparable Angel Garcia, “Vegas don’t know nothing…the world don’t know nothing…only I know everything!!”
We’ll find out tonight if he truly is boxing’s soothsayer!!

Let’s take a look at the “Tale of the Tape”!!

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Tale Of The Tape: Danny Garcia / Lucas Matthysse!

18 The tape can’t measure what’s on the line Saturday night between Philadelphia’s Danny “Swift” Garcia and Argentina’s heavy handed Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse but all the ingredients are there for a blockbuster fight that would be a main event any other place or time had it not been scheduled for the Mayweather vs Canelo Alvarez WBC / WBA Super World Light Middleweight fight card.

While both Garcia and Matthysse carry rep’s of their own, they have certainly been banked second shelf in this case but I believe it has all the properties to become the fight of the night.

Let’s assume. I know but lets do it anyway. Garcia is undefeated and is the current WBC Light Welterweight Champion while Matthysse stopping 32 of 34 opponents with about an 86% KO rating the popular Argentine favorite looms the heavy favorite but the facts just somehow add up for a very different entertaining bout.

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Danny Garcia – Lucas Matthysse & Undercard Final Presser Quotes

Lucas Matthysse(Photo credit: Golden Boy Promotions) LAS VEGAS, NEV. (Sept. 12, 2013) – Unified WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Light Welterweight Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia and current WBC Inter-Continental Light Welterweight Champion Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse proved that there is more than one main event scheduled at MGM Grand in Las Vegas this Saturday night. The bout headlines one of the strongest undercards in boxing history and precedes the highly anticipated matchup between Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez.

Also featured on the undercard are Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina in a 12-Round battle for the IBF Junior Middleweight Title, and Pablo Cesar Cano vs. Ashley Theophane in a 10-Round Welterweight battle.

Here’s what the fighters, promoters and trainers had to say during the today’s press conference:

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Final Press Conference: Matthysse-Garcia, Smith-Molina, Theophane-Cano

IMG_6394Mayweather and Alvarez are the headliners for this weekend. Naturally, the majority of the attention has been directed towards them. The One is such a stellar event is not just because of the headliner between the highest paid athlete in the world and the young Mexican star Canelo Alvarez. It’s a stellar event because of the main even WITHIN the main event: Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse VS. Danny “Swift” Garcia.

The final press conference for the undercard fights took place on Thursday afternoon to pave way for the mouth-watering fight between Philadelphia’s Danny Garcia and Argentina’s Lucas Matthysse. The fight is a train wreck waiting to happen. The final words were said from both camps and the tone is set for Saturdays showdowns.

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Lucas Matthysse – Media Roundtable Exclusive Interview

IMG_6508After the colorful press conference concluded, I, along with other members of the media, had the opportunity to interview Argentina’s Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse in anticipation of the biggest fight of his career. We touched on topics such as motivation, training camp, Angel Garcia’s antics and his future as a fighter.

A man of a few words, Matthysse does his talking in the ring. Here’s an exclusive look at some of many questions that were answered.

Question: “Is Lucas Matthysse the best fighter you will have fought after Saturday?”

Lucas Matthysse: “Definitely. He’s undefeated. He has the two titles. He’s the guy to beat. Obviously the best fighter in the division.”

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