Three Punch Combo: Introducing Heavyweight Prospect Viktor Faust and More

THREE PUNCH COMBO – Former Ukrainian amateur star Viktor Faust (known in his amateur days as Viktor Vykhryst) made a successful pro debut this past Saturday with a 43-second destruction of 23-fight veteran Andrei Mazanik. If you are not familiar with Faust, it is time to get acquainted as he appears to be on the fast track towards much bigger things in boxing’s glamour division.

Faust, 27, won gold as a super heavyweight at the 2017 European championships. Winner of many national titles, he was ticketed to lead the Ukrainian team in Tokyo at the 2020 Olympics but much to the bitter disappointment of the Boxing Federation of Ukraine he spurned that opportunity for a lucrative professional contract with a promotional company based out of Germany.

It’s difficult to break down a 43-second performance but there were some traits of Faust that stood out in his pro debut that show why he should be considered an elite level prospect. For one, he is extremely fluid in how he throws his combinations. Also, his hand speed is well above average for a heavyweight. I don’t want to go overboard on his power yet as his opponent had been stopped several times in the past, but the quick ending does show that Faust, at the very least, is not feather-fisted.

His technique looked good here and I also like what I saw on previous video from his amateur days. All in all, I think Viktor Faust should already be considered one of the sport’s top prospects. And by the end of the year, he may already have shed the prospect tag.

SHO BOX

The popular ShoBox series returns this Friday from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia with a quadruple-header of action. As is typical with this series, all four fights appear to be very competitive with the combined record of the eight fighters tallying 121-5-5. I like all four fights but the one in particular I’d like to highlight is the main event between lightweights Thomas Mattice (15-1-1, 11 KO’s) and Isaac Cruz Gonzalez (18-1-1, 14 KO’s).

Many times on the ShoBox series we have seen prospects get exposed and never return to the series. However, this has not been the case with Mattice (pictured on the far left). In his first four appearances on ShoBox he struggled going 2-1-1. In his ShoBox debut in February of 2018, Mattice had to rally to stop Roland Chinea in the seventh round in what was a poor effort up to the point of getting the come from behind stoppage. Another win five months later on ShoBox, an eight-round split decision over Zhora Hamazaryan, was universally scorned as a terrible decision.

After fighting to a draw in the rematch with Hamazaryan, Mattice would lose an eight- round decision in February of 2019 to the unheralded Will Madera. Mattice’s days on this prospect-oriented series seemed over following that effort but he was brought back as the opponent to face the fast-rising Michael Dutchover in September. And this time with his career seemingly on the line, Mattice rose to the occasion, stopping Dutchover in the eighth round of their scheduled ten round fight.

At his best, Mattice is a sharp punching boxer-puncher who works behind an educated left jab. He has both power and athleticism in his game. The talent is there to be a top- level fighter but his work rate and defense have been issues. Against Gonzalez, Mattice will need to be on top of his game to avoid another disappointing ShoBox outing.

Gonzalez is unbeaten in his last 14 fights. While much of his opposition is highly questionable, he does have one notable win during that stretch which was a third round stoppage of the once highly touted Jose Felix Jr.

There isn’t much video available of Gonzalez but what I have seen shows him to be an ultra-aggressive pressure fighter. He is somewhat in the mold of flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez in that Gonzalez just presses forward with sometimes reckless abandon chucking power punches from all angles. And as his record indicates he does have some heavy-handed power.

This should be a very interesting fight. Mattice is clearly the more skilled and more athletic fighter. If he fights like he did against Dutchover, then Mattice could put on a show here against a defensively challenged opponent. But Gonzalez is going to bring relentless pressure from the opening bell and we have seen Mattice in the past not respond well to those type of fighters. It’s a classic ShoBox fight and one I am very much looking forward to on Friday.

Under The Radar Fight

Boxing returns to FOX on Saturday with a card from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN that will be headlined by hometown hero Caleb Plant’s (19-0, 11 KO’s) second defense of his 168-pound title when he faces off against Germany’s Vincent Feigenbutz (31-2, 28 KO’s). While this fight will garner much attention, I am much more intrigued by the welterweight co-feature between Bryant Perrella (17-2, 14 KO’s) and Abel Ramos (25-3-2, 19 KO’s).

Perrella-Ramos is the quintessential type of fight we used to see with regularity in the 80’s and 90’s on the old USA Tuesday Night Fights series. Though neither would be considered a top contender in the welterweight division, they are both solid fighters who are each on the cusp of getting a bigger opportunity. And when two solid pros with equally matched skill-sets collide, more often than not we see a good entertaining fight.

Perrella was once considered to be a top-level prospect. But a 2016 knockout loss to Yordenis Ugas followed by a 2018 beatdown at the hands of Luis Collazo sent Perrella’s once promising career sideways. Since the loss to Collazo, Perrella has won two straight including his best win to date his last time out when he stopped another former elite prospect in Dominque Dolton in the third round.

Perrella is a classic boxer-puncher who possesses good hand speed and heavy-handed power in both fists. Matched carefully in the early part of his career, Perrella put on some sensational performances showcasing his natural athleticism and power.

However, Perrella has struggled when he stepped up in class and specifically when he has faced pressure fighters. And guess what type of fighter Ramos is?

The career of Ramos almost mirrors that of Perrella. Ramos was also once considered to be a good prospect but has generally come up short when stepping up in class. That said, he is coming off his two best career wins in 2019 against Francisco Santana and Jimmy Williams.

Each fighter has the skill-set to exploit the weakness of the other. Ramos is a slow plodding pressure fighter who has struggled against athletic quick-handed opponents. Contrastingly, Perrella has wilted when he has faced relentless pressure fighters such as Ramos. It’s a tough fight to forecast a winner but given their respective styles I am certain we will get a competitive fight with plenty of action.

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