On January 19th, Lucas Matthysse fights Hank Lundy as the co-feature of boxing’s other big fight night. While Golovkin vs. Rosado and Salido vs. Garcia are going on in New York for HBO, Alexander vs. Brook and Matthysse vs. Lundy will take place in Los Angeles on Showtime. At stake is Matthysse’s interim (read fake) WBC title. Rival networks, East Coast vs. West Coast, and plenty of championship action in the ring should make it a night to remember.
Henry Lundy (22-1-1, 11 KOs)
5’6″ tall, 28 years old
American
Former NABF Champion
Although Lundy has been in and out of the junior welterweight division throughout his career, in recent years he has focused mostly on being a lightweight. Coming from a respectable amateur background, he has a sound technique, and is quick and armed with better power than his knockout ratio might suggest. Against that, he has been hurt in the past, and seems to be lacking that extra something which would make him special.
Lundy’s recent record reflects this. Hank got on a roll by retiring a shopworn David Diaz for the NABF belt, and then outpointing Dannie Williams to keep it. He then allowed Raymundo Beltran to pressure and out-slug him, losing that title in a squeaker. All things considered, Lundy straddles the line between fringe contender and top journeyman.
Lundy vs. Matthysse Video Preview
Lucas Martin Matthysse (32-2-0, 30 KOs)
5’6 1/2″ tall, 69″ reach, 30 years old
Argentine
Current Interim (fake) WBC Junior Welterweight Champion
For a long time, Mattyssee was known as the more skillful of Argentina’s two world class junior welterweight sluggers, albeit the one cursed with hard luck (the other is Marcos Maidana). Both of his losses — to Zab Judah and Devon Alexander — could have gone either way and were somewhat controversial. Since then, the path has cleared for Matthysse, and he won fights with former lightweight champ Humberto Soto and an undefeated Ajose Olusegun, both ending before the final bell.
Now #3 in the world, Matthysse is a tough, aggressive, and skillful puncher, albeit still a puncher (don’t confuse skilled puncher with boxer-puncher). Holding the interim belt places him on a probable collision course with divisional top dog Danny Garcia, a prospect a gladiator like Matthysse must be licking his chops over.
Matthysse vs. Lundy Analysis & Prediction
Hank Lundy has the quickness and skill base to stretch this out a bit, but the only way I can see him surviving the night is if he gets on his bicycle and flees. Matthysse is one of the division’s biggest punchers, and has good technique when it comes to applying that hurt.
He comes on and is tough enough to take hard shots to land hard shots in return, but skillful enough that he doesn’t need to take too many. Simply put, he is in an entirely different class than Lundy, and Lundy gets hurt by guys who aren’t world class punchers.
Prediction: Lucas Martin Matthysse KO6 Henry Lundy
