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Matthysse vs. Postol On For October 3, on HBO

Published

9 years ago

July 30, 2015

The Sweet Science

LUCAS MATTHYSSE TO FACE VIKTOR POSTOL FOR THE VACANT

WBC WORLD SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP ON

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3 FROM STUBHUB CENTER

LIVE ON HBO BOXING AFTER DARK^®

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY, JULY 31

LOS ANGELES (July 30, 2015) – On October 3, one the most exciting fighters and fearsome punchers in boxing, Lucas “La Máquina” Matthysse (37-3, 34 KOs) will take on the dangerous and undefeated Viktor “The Iceman” Postol (27-0, 11 KOs) for the vacant WBC World Super Lightweight Championship at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. Presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Arano Box Promotions, Top Rank, Inc. and ELITE Boxing Promotion, the championship event will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets for Matthysse vs. Postol are priced at $150, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, and go on sale Friday, July 31 at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets can be purchased at AXS.com, by phone at 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849), and at StubHub Center Box Office (Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. PT to 6 p.m. PT). VIP Suites are available by calling 877-604-8777. For more information on group discounts or VIP packages, call 877-234-8425.

Below is what the fighters and their teams had to say about the upcoming showdown on Oct. 3:

“Postol isn’t anything big; he boxes well but that’s it,” said Lucas Matthysse, Former Interim WBC Super Lightweight World Champion. “I saw part of his fight against Selcuk Aydin but other than that there aren’t very many videos of him on the Internet. I’m not taking him lightly though, because he’s at the top of the rankings for a reason.”

“Postol is tall like John Molina, but Molina came to fight,” Matthyysse continued. “Postol, I don’t think so. He moves his left very well, fights at a distance, seems fast on his feet, and has excellent head movement. Against Aydin he got off to a slow start but then dominated and got the knockout. He’s good, but I’m confident that I’ll be the WBC World Champion.”

“I am glad that I am finally getting my chance to fight for the WBC world title after all those hurdles and delays,” said Viktor Postol, top super lightweight contender. “To get to this fight I had to go through 6 years of hard work and dedication in the gym and in the ring. I am ready mentally and physically to win this fight and bring the world title back to the Ukraine!”

“Lucas was the winning half of the 2014 fight of the year and once again came out on top of what nearly everyone considers the 2015 fight of the year – if fans want action, they know where they’re going to get it on Saturday, October 3,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “Lucas knows that a victory here would not only earn him the WBC World Super Lightweight Belt but would establish him as the clear top fighter in the division. With so much opportunity, I fully expect he’ll put on a dynamite show at StubHub Center.”

“Viktor is a tremendous boxer-puncher, and we give him a helluva shot to beat Lucas Matthysse,” said Boxing Hall of Fame Promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank, Inc.

“We’re going to work for this fight with the same or even greater responsibility than for Matthysse’s previous fights,” said Mario Arano, President of Arano Box Promotions. “I know Lucas will beat Postol by way of KO. After this fight we want Manny Pacquiao because even Bob Arum has mentioned the possibility of this fight happening. I’m sure our team at Golden Boy Promotions will work to make it happen.”

“After Postol, as the WBC World Champion, Lucas will be more than ready for mega-fights, Arano said. “That’s why we want Pacquiao, hopefully it can happen. If not, we’re ready for anyone. Too bad Mayweather will retire. Honestly, I truly believe the only fighter in the world that can beat Floyd is Lucas Matthysse.”

“We are looking forward to another great event with Lucas Matthysse who proves himself time after time to be one of the best fighters in the super lightweight division,” said Vadim Kornilov, manager for Viktor Postol and President of VK Management. “After the Provodnikov fight in which Lucas came out victorious, this fight is kind of like a revenge fight for our whole team, and we will make sure to not let this one slip away.

“In the last 10 years our company has done a lot to develop professional boxing in the Ukraine,” said Stepan Chernovetskiy, President of ELITE Boxing Promotions. “Viktor Postol has been one of our top prospects and we have done a lot to get him to a world title shot specifically with the WBC, which is one of the most respectable organizations. Viktor is a very good and technical boxer; myself and all of Ukraine will be supporting him in this fight and he has everything in order to win!”

“After giving fans one of the most riveting fights of 2015, Lucas Matthysse returns to face undefeated Viktor Postol, as these super-lightweights battle to capitalize on a well-earned opportunity to win a first world title,” said Peter Nelson, HBO Sports Vice President of Programming. “Having been home to so many memorable fights in recent years, the StubHub looks to have another in Matthysse-Postol, and we are privileged to present it to our subscribers October 3rd on Boxing After Dark.”

One of boxing’s most popular fighters, Lucas “La Maquina” Matthysse (37-3, 34 KOs, 1 NC) has achieved that status with good reason, as his one-punch knockout power and aggressive attack in the ring always makes for exciting bouts earning him the BWAA 2014 Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight of the year honors. Hailing from Trelew, Chubut, Argentina, the former interim WBC Junior Welterweight World Champion, has shown the best form of his career in recent bouts, with wins over John Molina, Roberto Ortiz, and Ruslan Provodnikov not only giving him a three-fight winning streak, but putting him on the verge of winning the WBC Super Lightweight World Championship on October 3.

A boxer with the style to give anyone trouble on fight night, 31-year-old Viktor “The Iceman” Postol (27-0, 11 KOs) refuses to get rattled in the ring. After two recent wins in the United States over Selcuk Aydin and Jake Giuriceo, fans in America are starting to see just how good the Kiev, Ukraine native is. The number one contender for the vacant WBC Super Lightweight Title, Postol has scored professional wins over former world champion DeMarcus Corley and respected contender Hank Lundy. This fall, he hopes to add the name of Lucas Matthysse to the list of fighters he has vanquished on his way to earning him world champion status.

HBO Boxing After Dark’s first event took place at the Great Western Forum on February 3, 1996, headlined by the classic bout between Marco Antonio Barrera and Kennedy McKinney. Now, nearly two decades later, Matthysse and Postol will look to make their mark on California boxing history on Oct. 3.

Matthysse vs. Postol is a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC World Super Lightweight Championship presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Arano Box Promotions, Top Rank, Inc. and ELITE Boxing Promotion and is sponsored by Corona and Mexico – Live it To Believe It!. Doors open at 2 p.m. on Oct. 3 and fight times will be announced soon.

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

9 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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