Left-Hook Lounge: Matthysse/Peterson, Can Matthysse tame Broner?, and Should Peterson/Judah Be Next?

matthysse84Mason N. (Bronx, NYC): I never saw the Matthysse victory over Peterson coming the way it did! Your Facebook post was almost spot on! What did you see coming into the fight that Peterson and a few of us didn’t?

Vivek W.: Although I predicted a Matthysse victory via split decision, the main premise of my argument that supported him winning was the fact that I don’t think we ever quite knew what we had in Peterson. We saw him gut out a few tough victories, but we also saw him buzzed quite a bit, and actually dropped 3 times in the past. One of those knockdowns came at the hands Timothy Bradley who has never been known as a hard puncher, highlighted in his abysmal 11 knockouts in 30 pro fights. When we look at the core of those knockdowns and those near knockdowns, each and every time they came as a result of his reckless penchant for staying in the pocket and trying to bang.

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De La Hoya: Who do you want to see this super hero [Canelo] fight?

canelo22It looks like Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions is referring to WBA/WBC light middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez as a “super hero” now following his controversial 12 round decision win over Austin Trout last month in a fight that Canelo appeared to be greatly helped by the open scoring, as well as some very, very generous scores by the three judges that worked that fight. A super hero that failed to prove that he’s better than Trout.

De La Hoya said tonight on his twitter “Who wants to see this super hero [Canelo]? And with who?”

De La Hoya was immediately bombarded with people saying that Canelo should fight WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and that he should fight someone his own size [172 lbs]. That probably wasn’t the answer that De La Hoya was hoping to get because Golovkin is a fighter that Golden Boy appears to be steering a wide path around him when it comes to matching Canelo up.

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Hopkins: Matthysse punches like a heavyweight

matthysse700(Photo credit: Naoki Fakuda) Bernard Hopkins was very impressed with the power that he saw from WBC interim light welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (34-2, 32 KO’s) in his 3rd round TKO win over Lamont Peterson (31-2-1, 16 KO’s) last night. Hopkins compared Matthysse’s power to that of a heavyweight due to his three knockdowns of the normally strong-chinned Peterson.

Hopkins said after the fight “I’ve never seen a light welterweight punch like a heavyweight. I’m very impressed. This is the real deal. There’s a lot of people worried at 140. They’re not sleeping good tonight.”

One of those people in the 140 lb. division who may not be sleeping well now is WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia because he’s going to have to fight Matthysse in September in Washington, DC, unless Garcia chooses to duck the fight and let the World Boxing Council strip him of his title for failing to fight his mandatory challenger for ages.

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Khan: It’s difficult seeing Peterson coming back from his loss to Matthysse

peterson453(Photo credit: Naoki Fakuda) Amir Khan thinks it’s going to be difficult for IBF light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson to come back from his 3rd round TKO loss to Lucas Matthysse last Saturday night. Peterson was annihilated by Matthysse in a three-knockdown loss at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

As soon as the fight ended, Khan immediately started chirping about how he thinks he can beat Matthysse and it was quite amusing to listen to him considering he just struggled to beat Julio Diaz.

Khan said to Sky Sports News “It’s hard to see Peterson come back from a devastating knockout like that…the 140 division is the most exciting division and it’s made me want to stay in it. I’ve said I’m going to move up to 147, but I’ve not made that move yet. I want to mix it up with these guys.”

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Alexander: I want Mayweather or Khan next

alexander55Depending on the extend of the damage in his injured left hand, IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander (25-1, 14 KO’s) is interested in getting back in the ring and fighting in September possibly against Floyd Mayweather Jr. if he wants that fight or Amir Khan whenever he’s ready to fight.

Alexander hurt his left hand in the 1st round against Lee Purdy (20-4-1, 13 KO’s) last night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Alexander easily beat Purdy by a 7th round stoppage after Purdy’s trainer pulled him out of the fight to save him from sustaining needless punishment in a one-sided fight.

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The Hardest Punchers In Boxing Today: From Heavyweight On Down!

wlad45Last night in Atlantic City, in “The House That Gatti Built,” we all saw a brutal and highly efficient display of what all boxing fans both love and, deep down, crave: KO punching power. Argentine 140-pound KO King Lucas Matthysse blew away the previously unstopped Lamont Peterson, in so doing giving the sport a high-energy jolt of excitement.

For as much as we can appreciate a master boxer, like, say, a Floyd Mayweather Junior, there is nothing quite like a lights out master such as Matthysse. That said, who are the single hardest punchers in boxing today from heavyweight on down?

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Matthysse not impressed with Danny Garcia

matthysse2001(Photo credit: Naoki Fakuda) Lucas Matthysse wants to face WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia (26-0, 16 KO’s) next on September 7th, and he’s hoping that Garcia doesn’t continue to duck the fight because he wants to get it over with by beating him and taking his two world titles.

Matthysse isn’t impressed with Garcia’s hand speed or his defensive ability, and he feels it’s going to be easy to land his big shots on him and get out of the way of his slow return shots.

Matthysse said “I hope the fight happens, but he’s a slow fighter. He’s slow and wide open. I know I’ll win that fight as well.”

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Peterson: I got reckless after Matthysse hit me on the back of the head

peterson600(Photo credit: Naoki Fakuda) IBF light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson (31-2-1, 16 KO’s) tried to explain away his 3rd round TKO loss last night to Lucas Matthysse (34-2, 32 KO’s), saying that he had got angry after Matthysse nailed him in the back of the head with a rabbit punch in a clinch during the 2nd round.

That shot caused Peterson to get out of his game plan and start slugging with Matthysse instead of boxing him like he’d done in the 1st round with good success.

Peterson said after the fight “The game plan was to keep boxing. Sometime in the 2nd round, he hit me in the back of the head. I got a little upset. I started to get a little more reckless and I wanted to bang. I could feel the fight heating up, and I kind of abandoned the game plan a little bit and I paid for that.”

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Haye and Fury eyeing Battle of Britain before 2013’s end

haye#5Last week, David Haye had to temporarily postpone his 29th of June comeback against Manuel Charr due to a hand injury. Team Hayemaker do hope this fight can be remade, but they are already planning a clash with the Mancunian Monster Tyson Fury before the year’s end.

Haye’s trainer and manager Adam Booth told Sky Sports News, “The plan is Manuel Charr then we will look later on this year. We are interested in the fight [with Fury] – it’s a huge domestic fight in the UK.”

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Khan wants Matthysse fight; thinks he’s got the style to beat him

matthysse100(Photo credit: Sumio Yamada) Amir Khan liked what he saw of Lucas Matthysse last night in his easy 3rd round TKO win over Lamont Peterson at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. However, Khan saw things in Matthysse’s fighting style that he feels would enable him to beat the Argentinian and he says he’d like to fight him.

Khan said “I’d love to fight Lucas Matthysse. My style would definitely suit Matthysse and I’d beat him. This wants me to stay at 140.”

Khan is moving up to 147 in his next fight, so it’s easy for him to say all this stuff now about wanting to fight Matthysse when it doesn’t look like it’s doable.

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