According to several reports, former light welterweight champion Devon Alexander and current WBO interim light welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse have agreed terms to fight in July.
Alexander (21-1, 13 KOs) is coming off a devastatingly one sided loss to Tim Bradley in January, which saw him lose more or less every round before the fight was stopped in the tenth due to cuts.
That being the case, choosing such a dangerous opponent for his return bout comes as something of a surprise.
Matthysse (28-1, 26 KOs), the less well known of Golden Boy’s hard punching Argentinians, last fought against DeMarcus Corley also in January, knocking the former champion down nine times and finishing him in the 8th. While some of the knockdowns were questionable, the result wasn’t, and Matthysse firmly established himself as one of the top light welterweights in the world.
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The very same DeMarcus Corley who went the distance with Matthysse’s more famous countryman Marcos Maidana last year, and many felt was unlucky not to have been given the decision on the night.
Before that Matthysse lost a controversial decision to Zab Judah, despite knocking Judah down in the tenth and dominating the latter rounds of the fight.
True to his ever fluctuating form Judah didn’t fight up to his true potential in that fight, but looked a lot more convincing in his next outing against Kaizer Mabuza, winning the IBF title in the process. Whether that was down to difficulties with Matthysse’s style or just an off night for the ever unpredictable Judah though is difficult to say with any certainty.
So although he isn’t that well known yet stateside and definitely has his flaws, Matthysse is certainly not an easy fight for anyone in the division, let alone a much hyped young champion coming back from their first loss.
Stylistically, Alexander has the advantage given that he has the better speed and movement and should be able to make it difficult for Matthysse to land anything of consequence.
If his confidence took a hit in losing the Bradley fight though, this could make the fight that much more difficult, and another loss or even bad performance here would seriously damage Alexander’s standing in the division.
Matthysse is more technically gifted than most tend to assume, and boxed well enough against the slick Zab Judah to eventually score a knockdown, if not quite enough to win the fight.
On top of that he has one of the highest knockout ratios in the division and punches well to the body, while remaining not quite as reckless or easy to hit as many of his hard punching contemporaries, such as Marcos Maidana.
Should Matthysse win here, even against a perhaps still gun-shy Alexander, his stock would rise immediately and he would almost certainly find himself ranked in the top five in the light welterweight division. In turn this would likely lead to title shots and perhaps even an all action showdown with Maidana, which would make for great viewing if nothing else.
Matt McCourt, Pitt: “Alexander needs to win big or he’s finished as a top 5 fighter, he’s looked terrible in his last two fights and the Bradley fight proved he doesn’t have the heart to win a tough fight”
