Although there are a number of world title fights this week, as we head towards the new year, I'd argue, from a personal view, that the most important is the IBF Bantamweight title fight between Britain's Stuart Hall (15-2-1, 7) and South African Vusi Malinga (21-4-1, 12). The fight, for the vacant controversially stripped from Jamie McDonnell, may not be one that has the casual fans frothing at the mouth but it is a fight that could well set the tone for 2014's Bantamweight division.
On the international stage it's Malinga who is best known having fought on foreign soil 3 times. His world journey has seen him fighting in Thailand where he defeated the great Veeraphol Sahaprom, In Japan where he was stopped inside a round by the hugely under-rated Hozumi Hasegawa and in the US where he took Leo Santa Cruz 12 rounds.
As well as those 3 bouts on the road against world level opponents Malinga also holds a win over Alberto Rossel, the Peruvian man who currently holds the WBA interim Light Flyweight title.
Unfortunately for Malinga his record is mainly against fellow South African fighters or visitors to South Africa. Many of those fighters, at best, were limited. These include fighters like Filipino veteran Michael Domingo and Jerope Mercado, with the Mercado bout ending in a hugely controversial draw.
Malinga is tough though not the most skilled. He's not a fighter to get into a war with but he can be out-warred as he was against Santa Cruz and against Hasegawa who hurt him early and jumped on him. The best way to beat him though seems to be to out box him. In terms of his boxing ability he's nothing special, slightly better than your typical "teak tough" African but far from being special.
Talking about being nothing special the same could also be said for Hall who is again far from being a special fighter. That's not meant as an insult but when compared with Shinsuke Yamanaka or Anselmo Moreno there is a gulf of difference between them.
Hall's key strength is his tenacity. He'll always work hard even if he lacks the power, speed or skill to beat the genuinely top fighters. His limitations, like those of Malinga, have been shown up at the world level with Hall losing to Jamie McDonnell, who went on to claim a world title, and Lee Haskins who won the European title against Hall though lost in his first defence to Stephane Jamoye.
Hall, at 30 years old, is the younger man by several years though that advantage may be neutralised by the fact Malinga is more experienced, has a higher level of experience and is naturally bigger with a 2" height advantage and a 5" reach advantage. If he can make the most of those advantages then we expect Malinga to take a decision. Hall however has promised a war and that will see him trying to get inside the reach of Malinga and working up close. If he can do that then he may be able to wear down Malinga late. Odds however do favour Malinga and we'd go with them.
Prediction-Malinga TKO10
Showing posts with label Britain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Britain. Show all posts
Friday, 20 December 2013
Saturday, 23 November 2013
Scott Quigg v Diego Oscar Silva
Some world title fights can look good on paper though be awful in the ring. This weekend looks almost certain to have one such fight as WBA Super Bantamweight champion Scott Quigg (26-0-2, 19) defends his title against Argentinian Diego Oscar Silva (29-2-4, 15). On paper it looks fine, in reality however I expect this to be the equivalent of a massacre.
Quigg, although less than impressive last time out when he scored a draw with Cuban Yoandris Salinas, is a fighter with genuine potential. He hit hard, he has an excellent engine and is developing into one of the sports best body punchers. Sure he can be made to look somewhat limited technically and he can be hurt but he's solid enough all round to be a world level fighter.
In Silva however we have a C rate challenger and one who was proven to be a poor challenger at Bantamweight, never mind Super Bantamweight.
Silva's career, which began way back in 2004, has been like many "decent" South Americans. He has been able to pile up numerous victories on the domestic scheme with several coming against the same fighters such as Carlos Gustavo Palacios and Diego Miguel Ramirez. In fact Silva's only fight against a "known" quality came in 2009 when he was stopped by Fernando Montiel.
Whilst it's fair to say that Quigg has never beaten someone of Montiel's class it's also fair to say that Quigg is better than anyone else that Silva has faced. That will be shown up here as the Brit stops Silva around the mid-way point.
Prediction-Quigg TKO 5
Quigg, although less than impressive last time out when he scored a draw with Cuban Yoandris Salinas, is a fighter with genuine potential. He hit hard, he has an excellent engine and is developing into one of the sports best body punchers. Sure he can be made to look somewhat limited technically and he can be hurt but he's solid enough all round to be a world level fighter.
In Silva however we have a C rate challenger and one who was proven to be a poor challenger at Bantamweight, never mind Super Bantamweight.
Silva's career, which began way back in 2004, has been like many "decent" South Americans. He has been able to pile up numerous victories on the domestic scheme with several coming against the same fighters such as Carlos Gustavo Palacios and Diego Miguel Ramirez. In fact Silva's only fight against a "known" quality came in 2009 when he was stopped by Fernando Montiel.
Whilst it's fair to say that Quigg has never beaten someone of Montiel's class it's also fair to say that Quigg is better than anyone else that Silva has faced. That will be shown up here as the Brit stops Silva around the mid-way point.
Prediction-Quigg TKO 5
Thursday, 21 November 2013
Carl Froch v George Groves
The Super Middleweight division is one that Britain has typically fared really well in with the likes of Joe Calzaghe, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Robin Reid and Richie Woodhall amongst others. Despite the memorable names what really stands out were the all-British fights such as the battles between Benn, Eubank and the tragic Michael Watson.
This weekend promises another of those classic all-British Super Middleweight world title fights as the 36 year old Carl Froch (31-2, 22) fights the unbeaten George Groves (19-0, 15) in what will be Groves' first fight at the world level.
The fact this is Groves' first world title fight is a major point to me. Although obviously talented Groves is taking a massive step up in class moving from fighting the likes of Noe Gonzalez Alcoba and Baker Barakat, his last two opponents, to facing the likes of Froch. Yes they were effectively stay busy fights for Groves but Froch is by far the best fighter Groves has ever fought as a professional.
What Groves does have going for him is youth, he's only 25, speed and almost certainly better movement. Though when you're toughest fights are against James DeGale and Kevin Anderson it's fair to say that you've not really had the developmental fights to prepare you for a world level bout. I think this is crucial matter. Groves never went up against fringe level fighters such as Maxim Vlasov, Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna or even someone like Dimitri Sartison and this could bite him on the backside.
The problem regarding Groves' "level" is that we've seen him hurt, cut and knocked down in the bouts he's already been involved in. Although he's come through the scares the fact he was in those struggles is a worry.
Another problem for Groves is that he has left long term trainer Adam Smith in recent weeks. Whilst this might not directly cause him problems it will certainly have been a distraction and something that could see Groves' attention not being on Froch.
With Groves not being a proven world level fighter it's fair to say that's not something that can be said about Froch. "The Cobra", as he is known, has fought in 10 successive world title bouts dating back to 2008 and met the very best in his division such as Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler. That sort of experience is invaluable and despite being 36 Froch has that proven ability to operate at the top.
Although experienced Froch does have some issues himself. He is defensively suspect, his speed isn't as good as it once was and he does have miles on the clock. You don't fight 24 rounds with Mikkel Kessler with out taking some serious damage in return. Saying that however Froch has always proven to be very tough bother physically and mentally and although he may take a few shots he rarely seems to be really hurt.
As well as the experience and the toughness I also tend to think that Froch is the bigger puncher. Neither has proven to be genuinely destructive at this level, though Froch has stopped Lucien Bute which is better than Groves stopping the likes of Paul Smith (who lets be honest isn't even the best in his own family).
I don't want to sound like I'm trivialising the challenge of Groves but I honestly feel he won't trouble Froch. He'll try to outbox Froch for a round or two though by the third Froch will be walking him down and connecting with his own shots slowly but surely knocking lumps out of Groves' confidence and stopping him around the 8th round as Groves' lack of world class competition gets shown up to be the difference.
This'll be fun, but it won't be the classic we're all hoping for.
Prediction-Froch TKO8
This weekend promises another of those classic all-British Super Middleweight world title fights as the 36 year old Carl Froch (31-2, 22) fights the unbeaten George Groves (19-0, 15) in what will be Groves' first fight at the world level.
The fact this is Groves' first world title fight is a major point to me. Although obviously talented Groves is taking a massive step up in class moving from fighting the likes of Noe Gonzalez Alcoba and Baker Barakat, his last two opponents, to facing the likes of Froch. Yes they were effectively stay busy fights for Groves but Froch is by far the best fighter Groves has ever fought as a professional.
What Groves does have going for him is youth, he's only 25, speed and almost certainly better movement. Though when you're toughest fights are against James DeGale and Kevin Anderson it's fair to say that you've not really had the developmental fights to prepare you for a world level bout. I think this is crucial matter. Groves never went up against fringe level fighters such as Maxim Vlasov, Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna or even someone like Dimitri Sartison and this could bite him on the backside.
The problem regarding Groves' "level" is that we've seen him hurt, cut and knocked down in the bouts he's already been involved in. Although he's come through the scares the fact he was in those struggles is a worry.
Another problem for Groves is that he has left long term trainer Adam Smith in recent weeks. Whilst this might not directly cause him problems it will certainly have been a distraction and something that could see Groves' attention not being on Froch.
With Groves not being a proven world level fighter it's fair to say that's not something that can be said about Froch. "The Cobra", as he is known, has fought in 10 successive world title bouts dating back to 2008 and met the very best in his division such as Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler. That sort of experience is invaluable and despite being 36 Froch has that proven ability to operate at the top.
Although experienced Froch does have some issues himself. He is defensively suspect, his speed isn't as good as it once was and he does have miles on the clock. You don't fight 24 rounds with Mikkel Kessler with out taking some serious damage in return. Saying that however Froch has always proven to be very tough bother physically and mentally and although he may take a few shots he rarely seems to be really hurt.
As well as the experience and the toughness I also tend to think that Froch is the bigger puncher. Neither has proven to be genuinely destructive at this level, though Froch has stopped Lucien Bute which is better than Groves stopping the likes of Paul Smith (who lets be honest isn't even the best in his own family).
I don't want to sound like I'm trivialising the challenge of Groves but I honestly feel he won't trouble Froch. He'll try to outbox Froch for a round or two though by the third Froch will be walking him down and connecting with his own shots slowly but surely knocking lumps out of Groves' confidence and stopping him around the 8th round as Groves' lack of world class competition gets shown up to be the difference.
This'll be fun, but it won't be the classic we're all hoping for.
Prediction-Froch TKO8
Friday, 4 October 2013
Scott Quigg v Yoandris Salinas
Whilst much of the boxing world will be turned to Russia this weekend I've got to admit that the bout I'm nost looking forward to this weekend is the upcoming WBA Super Bantamweight title clash between Britain's Scott Quigg (26-0-1, 19) and Cuban Yoandris Salinas (20-0-1, 13).
Despite the "lower" billing than many other bouts this weekend and relatively unhyped nature of the bout I've got to admit that this, at least on paper, looks like it could, potentially, be a very interesting contest between two men looking to make the move to genuine world level having been flirting around the fringes for a while.
Of the two Quigg is the better known fighter. He's a former WBA "interim" Super Bantamweight champion and is a fighter who has been on British numerous times, it's also fair to say that he will have the home crowd behind him. Saying that however Salinas has never had a problem with the crowd being against him, in fact the Miami based Cuban has gone in to the lions den fight after fight and in recent years he has traveled to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Peru.
Quigg isn't just the better known of the two men but is also the clear favourite. He holds the most notable wins of the two men, including a stoppages over Rendall Munroe, Jamie Arthur and Jason Booth, though, with out being rude his most notable victories have been on the British domestic scene and he's never really had a step up from British level to anything like genuine world class.
Interestingly whilst Quigg has scored the more notable victories it's Salinas who has faced the toughest opponent, scoring a draw with Nehomar Cermeno in Cermeno's adoptive Panama, in a bout that many feel Salinas deserved to win. It's fair to say that had Salinas gotten that decision in his favour he'd have had the most outstanding victory between these two.
Style wise his looks like it could be a very interesting bout of boxing.
Quigg is a strong, but basic boxer. He's adapted well after starting his combat sport career in kick boxing and has shown very good development fight after fight. His punches are hurtful, he's tough and more impressively he's shown excellent shot selection especially in in his second bout against Munroe.
Although Salinas isn't as strong or as powerful as Quigg he is an excellent boxer. Cuban's usually are of course though when you look at Salinas's amateur pedigree you realise just how good he is. He was a multi-time Cuban amateur champion, won international medals in competitions such as the Central American & Caribbean Games and Pan Am games and has a reported 300 amateur bouts. This a guy who knows his way around the ring.
With this in mind I expect us to see a fair bit of boxing early in and in fact I actually think Quigg could be frustrated by Salinas's boxing early on. The Cuban is confident, very sound defensively, fast with both hands and goes to the body very well. If he can take the power of Quigg then we are in for something that could become very memorable.
Unfortunately with boxing judging the way it is right now I can't go against Quigg. I think edge in power will just see him over the line in a bout that could be very close on the cards.
Prediction-Quigg SD12
Despite the "lower" billing than many other bouts this weekend and relatively unhyped nature of the bout I've got to admit that this, at least on paper, looks like it could, potentially, be a very interesting contest between two men looking to make the move to genuine world level having been flirting around the fringes for a while.
Of the two Quigg is the better known fighter. He's a former WBA "interim" Super Bantamweight champion and is a fighter who has been on British numerous times, it's also fair to say that he will have the home crowd behind him. Saying that however Salinas has never had a problem with the crowd being against him, in fact the Miami based Cuban has gone in to the lions den fight after fight and in recent years he has traveled to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Peru.
Quigg isn't just the better known of the two men but is also the clear favourite. He holds the most notable wins of the two men, including a stoppages over Rendall Munroe, Jamie Arthur and Jason Booth, though, with out being rude his most notable victories have been on the British domestic scene and he's never really had a step up from British level to anything like genuine world class.
Interestingly whilst Quigg has scored the more notable victories it's Salinas who has faced the toughest opponent, scoring a draw with Nehomar Cermeno in Cermeno's adoptive Panama, in a bout that many feel Salinas deserved to win. It's fair to say that had Salinas gotten that decision in his favour he'd have had the most outstanding victory between these two.
Style wise his looks like it could be a very interesting bout of boxing.
Quigg is a strong, but basic boxer. He's adapted well after starting his combat sport career in kick boxing and has shown very good development fight after fight. His punches are hurtful, he's tough and more impressively he's shown excellent shot selection especially in in his second bout against Munroe.
Although Salinas isn't as strong or as powerful as Quigg he is an excellent boxer. Cuban's usually are of course though when you look at Salinas's amateur pedigree you realise just how good he is. He was a multi-time Cuban amateur champion, won international medals in competitions such as the Central American & Caribbean Games and Pan Am games and has a reported 300 amateur bouts. This a guy who knows his way around the ring.
With this in mind I expect us to see a fair bit of boxing early in and in fact I actually think Quigg could be frustrated by Salinas's boxing early on. The Cuban is confident, very sound defensively, fast with both hands and goes to the body very well. If he can take the power of Quigg then we are in for something that could become very memorable.
Unfortunately with boxing judging the way it is right now I can't go against Quigg. I think edge in power will just see him over the line in a bout that could be very close on the cards.
Prediction-Quigg SD12
Friday, 7 September 2012
Lucas Martin Matthysse v Ajose Olusegun
Like everyone else who follows boxing I hate "interim" titles. Whilst I agree in principle with them, they have become incredible misused, especially in recent times where every division appears to have an "interim" by the WBA or the WBO as the organisations look to cash in on an extra stream of revenue. This weekend however we have an "interim" title bout that is hard to argue with, in fact it's slightly shocking that neither man is a world champion already.
In one corner we have the exciting and highly rated Argentinian Lucas Martin Matthysse (31-2-0-1, 29) and in the other we have the unbeaten Nigerian born British citizen Ajose Olusegun (30-0, 14). Both men probably should already have had multiple opportunities at titles though, for one reason or another neither man has been crowned a "world champion" so far.
Firstly lets look at the Argentinian. The 29 year old from Buenos Aires is the younger of the two fighters but also the smaller, more powerful man, in fact one a pound-for-pound ranking Matthysse would ranking up amongst the best for his power. Unlike countryman Marcos Maidana, Matthysse isn't wild and reckless, instead he's a well schooled pressure fighter who uses some very under-rated defensive skills to get inside an opponent and hammer them with hard, thudding shots to both the head and body. Whilst the head shots are capable of shaking anyone at 140lbs the body shots are his trademark and the the blows that break fighters when they land.
Matthysse has been around for a while and was a well established amateur at the turn of the millennium having competed in a number of major international events. After missing out on the 2004 Olympics however Matthysse decided it was time to leave a trail of destruction in the professional ranks.
As a professional Matthysse's power and aggression spoke volumes and none of his first 23 fights went beyond 4 rounds as he ran up a record of 22-0-0-1 (21), his only none T/KO win during that streak was a 3rd round DQ victory over Bernardino Gonzalez. It wasn't until the tough Carlos Adan Jerez that Matthysse would find an opponent who could stand up to his power, however Matthysse scored a clear points win over Jerez (who incidentally had been stopped by Lucas' older brother Walter Dario Matthysse several years earlier).
Having created a bit of buzz back home in Argentina, Matthysse would get his first chance to make a name for himself in the USA as he traveled to face former multi-weight world champion Zab Judah. The bout, aired on HBO saw Matthysse suffering his first professional loss as he was on the receiving end of a highly controversial split decision which many felt should have gone the Argentinians way. Despite the loss to Judah many watching had suddenly become Matthysse fans and fallen in love with the exciting Argentinian who they wanted to see more of. Those fans got their wishes just 7 months later as Matthysse fought former world champion Devon Alexander (who faces Randall Bailey in an IBF Welterweight title bout on the same telecast). History would repeat it's self for Matthysse as, like in the Judah bout, he lost by a controversial split decision in a bout he seemed to clearly win.
It would have been understandable for Matthysse to say screw American after being denied twice by controversial scoring, but he returned to the US earlier this year and defeated former multi-weight champion Humberto Soto by TKO between rounds 5 and 6. It was the win over Soto that saw him earning this bout for the "interim" WBC Light Welterweight title.
As previously mentioned Matthysse is a skilled pressure fighter with very under-rated defense and whilst he does get caught, most shots he gets hit with are glancing shots or taken well. It's his offense however that should be the worrying factor for Olusegun. Not only is Matthysse a hard hitter but he's accurate and can penetrate an opponents guard with alarming regularity. Even if he doesn't land clean his shots hurt and he can put on the pressure late as he showed against Judah. As well as his style he may mentally want this more as well, having twice felt robbed in America he'll likely seek the stoppage victory.
Whilst Nigerian Ajose Olusegun goes into this bout as the less well known fighter he will go into it with a lot of belief that his time has finally come having had a long and drawn out process to finally get his world title opportunity.
Despite being born in Lagos, Nigeria (and competing at the Olympics) it was in Britain that Olusegun earned his professional boxing stripes. He debuted back in 2001 and with in 18 months he had claimed his first professional title, the lightly regarded World Boxing Foundation Intercontinental Light Welterweight title. By the end of 2005 he added both the Nigerian and the African Boxing Union titles at Light Welterweight as he took fights in both Nigerian and Israel.
The first notable victory for Olusegun came in late 2004 as he stopped Welshman Bradley Pryce. Pryce, the nearly man of British boxing, had fought for the British title 19 months earlier and would later go on to claim the Commonwealth title at Light Middleweight. Olusegun would build on the victory over Pryce by knocking out the then promising Ali Nuumbembe in eye catching fashion. It seemed at this point as if Olusegun would be fast tracked to major international titles.
It took a year following Olusegun's victory over Nuumbembe for Olusegun to claim his next title, the Commonwealth Light Welterweight title as he dominated Gary Reid over 12 rounds. This should have been the platform of Olusegun's world title challenge but sadly, due to poor management Olusegun was stuck making defenses of the Commonwealth title and taking several stay busy fights as he patiently waited for an opportunity. After defending the Commonwealth title 4 times (defeating Nigel Wright twice, Scott Haywood and Colin Lynes) and claiming the British title it seemed almost inevitable that Olusegun would chase a world title fight having gotten sick of waiting in line.
In September 2011 Olusegun finally got his chance to make a mark on the world rankings as he made his US debut and faced Frenchman Ali Chebah in a WBC Eliminator. The winner was supposed to fight to winner of the Erik Morales v Pablo Cesar Cano bout, however, despite dominating Chebah the WBC failed to enforce the bout instead allowing the #2 ranked WBC fighter Danny Garcia to face Morales instead.
Olusegun is a hugely talented Southpaw. He may not pack the power of Matthysse but he has blinding hand speed, a huge variety of punches (many of which are thrown from bizarre angles), brilliant reactions, great footwork and beautiful combinations. Olusegun may have, at times shown a lack of interest in the ring (and often toyed with opponents out of boredom) but when he has his mind on the job he can look sensational both going forward and backwards.
What we have here is two very deserving fighters (a real rarity for an "interim" title bout) though two fighters with very, very different styles. Olusegun is the much faster, taller fighter who whilst not really tested at world level has looked sensational against British fights and his performance against Chebah proved that he was at least fringe world level. Matthysse, the smaller fighter (by around 3" in height and 2" in reach) will know that he will need to get inside Olusegun, he will probably also know that he will need to slow Olusegun with body shots if he is going to win this. It's also interesting to note that whilst Matthysse is tested at the higher level both of his losses have come to quick southpaws, something that Olusegun has in common with both Judah and Alexander.
To win this bout Matthysse will need to slow down Olusegun and body shots will be the key. The Argentinian will struggle to get over the notable size disadvantage but he will have to find a way, likely using his under-rated skills to cut off the ring and unleashing shots to the live when up close. He shouldn't be expecting Olusegun to trade with him (like Soto did) but if he can make things close he will have success. This won't be an easy fight for the Argentinian but it is one he will feel he can win, in fact he almost certainly feels he can beat anyone at 140lbs.
Olusegun's keys to victory will be based around his size, movement and speed. If he can keep Matthysse at range by boxing and moving he should be able to pick up the win. Olusegun however will need to keep his wits about him, he can't try to get cheeky or look for a fight with Matthyse as he would likely come off second best. As long as he can keep up a good work rate for the 12 rounds, keeping Matthyse from unloading up close he stands a solid chance. Olusegun cannot look at this bout as his chance to leave 3 years of anger in the ring but instead he need to think of it as his chance to vindicate himself after feeling like he's been avoided for he past few years.
My take on this fight is that Olusegun, with his speed and range will start the bout fast, he will likely reel off the first 3 or 4 rounds and bag them with his movement, work rate and hand speed. However Matthysse is excellent at cutting the ring off and expect him to catch Olusegun at least a couple of times to the body. In the middle rounds the body work will begin to build up from Matthyse and down the stretch the Argentinian will manage to just grind down the Nigerian in the last few rounds.
Matthyse is the favourite and is priced around 4/9 however I have this much closer to a 50-50 bout that could genuinely go either way and whilst I do favour the Argentinian I wouldn't be surprised if he did lose.
This bout has genuine potential to be really exciting (if Matthysse gets his way) or dull (if Olusegun manages to control the whole 12 rounds with his movement and reach) or some where between the two so is certainly worth tuning in for.
Prediction: Matthysse TKO 11
In one corner we have the exciting and highly rated Argentinian Lucas Martin Matthysse (31-2-0-1, 29) and in the other we have the unbeaten Nigerian born British citizen Ajose Olusegun (30-0, 14). Both men probably should already have had multiple opportunities at titles though, for one reason or another neither man has been crowned a "world champion" so far.
Firstly lets look at the Argentinian. The 29 year old from Buenos Aires is the younger of the two fighters but also the smaller, more powerful man, in fact one a pound-for-pound ranking Matthysse would ranking up amongst the best for his power. Unlike countryman Marcos Maidana, Matthysse isn't wild and reckless, instead he's a well schooled pressure fighter who uses some very under-rated defensive skills to get inside an opponent and hammer them with hard, thudding shots to both the head and body. Whilst the head shots are capable of shaking anyone at 140lbs the body shots are his trademark and the the blows that break fighters when they land.
Matthysse has been around for a while and was a well established amateur at the turn of the millennium having competed in a number of major international events. After missing out on the 2004 Olympics however Matthysse decided it was time to leave a trail of destruction in the professional ranks.
As a professional Matthysse's power and aggression spoke volumes and none of his first 23 fights went beyond 4 rounds as he ran up a record of 22-0-0-1 (21), his only none T/KO win during that streak was a 3rd round DQ victory over Bernardino Gonzalez. It wasn't until the tough Carlos Adan Jerez that Matthysse would find an opponent who could stand up to his power, however Matthysse scored a clear points win over Jerez (who incidentally had been stopped by Lucas' older brother Walter Dario Matthysse several years earlier).
Having created a bit of buzz back home in Argentina, Matthysse would get his first chance to make a name for himself in the USA as he traveled to face former multi-weight world champion Zab Judah. The bout, aired on HBO saw Matthysse suffering his first professional loss as he was on the receiving end of a highly controversial split decision which many felt should have gone the Argentinians way. Despite the loss to Judah many watching had suddenly become Matthysse fans and fallen in love with the exciting Argentinian who they wanted to see more of. Those fans got their wishes just 7 months later as Matthysse fought former world champion Devon Alexander (who faces Randall Bailey in an IBF Welterweight title bout on the same telecast). History would repeat it's self for Matthysse as, like in the Judah bout, he lost by a controversial split decision in a bout he seemed to clearly win.
It would have been understandable for Matthysse to say screw American after being denied twice by controversial scoring, but he returned to the US earlier this year and defeated former multi-weight champion Humberto Soto by TKO between rounds 5 and 6. It was the win over Soto that saw him earning this bout for the "interim" WBC Light Welterweight title.
As previously mentioned Matthysse is a skilled pressure fighter with very under-rated defense and whilst he does get caught, most shots he gets hit with are glancing shots or taken well. It's his offense however that should be the worrying factor for Olusegun. Not only is Matthysse a hard hitter but he's accurate and can penetrate an opponents guard with alarming regularity. Even if he doesn't land clean his shots hurt and he can put on the pressure late as he showed against Judah. As well as his style he may mentally want this more as well, having twice felt robbed in America he'll likely seek the stoppage victory.
Whilst Nigerian Ajose Olusegun goes into this bout as the less well known fighter he will go into it with a lot of belief that his time has finally come having had a long and drawn out process to finally get his world title opportunity.
Despite being born in Lagos, Nigeria (and competing at the Olympics) it was in Britain that Olusegun earned his professional boxing stripes. He debuted back in 2001 and with in 18 months he had claimed his first professional title, the lightly regarded World Boxing Foundation Intercontinental Light Welterweight title. By the end of 2005 he added both the Nigerian and the African Boxing Union titles at Light Welterweight as he took fights in both Nigerian and Israel.
The first notable victory for Olusegun came in late 2004 as he stopped Welshman Bradley Pryce. Pryce, the nearly man of British boxing, had fought for the British title 19 months earlier and would later go on to claim the Commonwealth title at Light Middleweight. Olusegun would build on the victory over Pryce by knocking out the then promising Ali Nuumbembe in eye catching fashion. It seemed at this point as if Olusegun would be fast tracked to major international titles.
It took a year following Olusegun's victory over Nuumbembe for Olusegun to claim his next title, the Commonwealth Light Welterweight title as he dominated Gary Reid over 12 rounds. This should have been the platform of Olusegun's world title challenge but sadly, due to poor management Olusegun was stuck making defenses of the Commonwealth title and taking several stay busy fights as he patiently waited for an opportunity. After defending the Commonwealth title 4 times (defeating Nigel Wright twice, Scott Haywood and Colin Lynes) and claiming the British title it seemed almost inevitable that Olusegun would chase a world title fight having gotten sick of waiting in line.
In September 2011 Olusegun finally got his chance to make a mark on the world rankings as he made his US debut and faced Frenchman Ali Chebah in a WBC Eliminator. The winner was supposed to fight to winner of the Erik Morales v Pablo Cesar Cano bout, however, despite dominating Chebah the WBC failed to enforce the bout instead allowing the #2 ranked WBC fighter Danny Garcia to face Morales instead.
Olusegun is a hugely talented Southpaw. He may not pack the power of Matthysse but he has blinding hand speed, a huge variety of punches (many of which are thrown from bizarre angles), brilliant reactions, great footwork and beautiful combinations. Olusegun may have, at times shown a lack of interest in the ring (and often toyed with opponents out of boredom) but when he has his mind on the job he can look sensational both going forward and backwards.
What we have here is two very deserving fighters (a real rarity for an "interim" title bout) though two fighters with very, very different styles. Olusegun is the much faster, taller fighter who whilst not really tested at world level has looked sensational against British fights and his performance against Chebah proved that he was at least fringe world level. Matthysse, the smaller fighter (by around 3" in height and 2" in reach) will know that he will need to get inside Olusegun, he will probably also know that he will need to slow Olusegun with body shots if he is going to win this. It's also interesting to note that whilst Matthysse is tested at the higher level both of his losses have come to quick southpaws, something that Olusegun has in common with both Judah and Alexander.
To win this bout Matthysse will need to slow down Olusegun and body shots will be the key. The Argentinian will struggle to get over the notable size disadvantage but he will have to find a way, likely using his under-rated skills to cut off the ring and unleashing shots to the live when up close. He shouldn't be expecting Olusegun to trade with him (like Soto did) but if he can make things close he will have success. This won't be an easy fight for the Argentinian but it is one he will feel he can win, in fact he almost certainly feels he can beat anyone at 140lbs.
Olusegun's keys to victory will be based around his size, movement and speed. If he can keep Matthysse at range by boxing and moving he should be able to pick up the win. Olusegun however will need to keep his wits about him, he can't try to get cheeky or look for a fight with Matthyse as he would likely come off second best. As long as he can keep up a good work rate for the 12 rounds, keeping Matthyse from unloading up close he stands a solid chance. Olusegun cannot look at this bout as his chance to leave 3 years of anger in the ring but instead he need to think of it as his chance to vindicate himself after feeling like he's been avoided for he past few years.
My take on this fight is that Olusegun, with his speed and range will start the bout fast, he will likely reel off the first 3 or 4 rounds and bag them with his movement, work rate and hand speed. However Matthysse is excellent at cutting the ring off and expect him to catch Olusegun at least a couple of times to the body. In the middle rounds the body work will begin to build up from Matthyse and down the stretch the Argentinian will manage to just grind down the Nigerian in the last few rounds.
Matthyse is the favourite and is priced around 4/9 however I have this much closer to a 50-50 bout that could genuinely go either way and whilst I do favour the Argentinian I wouldn't be surprised if he did lose.
This bout has genuine potential to be really exciting (if Matthysse gets his way) or dull (if Olusegun manages to control the whole 12 rounds with his movement and reach) or some where between the two so is certainly worth tuning in for.
Prediction: Matthysse TKO 11
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