On Saturday night, three of boxing’s hardest hitters and most exciting fighters take center stage in Carson, California, as Showtime airs a tripleheader with Keith Thurman, Lucas Matthysse and Omar Figueroa.
Right here, you’ll find the fight previews for the entire card, along with a special preview video of the action as well.
Keith Thurman vs. Julio Diaz Preview & Prediction
Thurman is fresh off his best effort yet, a 9th round TKO of Jesus Soto-Karass. The undefeated “One Time”, now 22-0 with 20 KOs, looks to continue his upward ascent against Julio Diaz.
Diaz was rightfully considered a spent force as far back as 2007, when he was stopped by Juan Diaz. Certainly when Kendall Holt brutally laid him out in 3 rounds in 2011. However, due to the fact that he gave the now surging Showtime Shawn Porter fits, fighting him to a draw in their first encounter, he’s a somewhat more viable opponent. That’s particularly so for Golden Boy and Showtime, who get to showcase Thurman’s thudding one-time power against a fighter who can absolutely be stopped.
Thurman vs. Diaz Prediction: Thurman TKO5 Diaz
Lucas Matthysse vs. John Molina Preview & Prediction
John Molina (27-3, 22 KOs) has long been one of the most bewildering fighters in the business. He has the wherewithal to defeat Hank Lundy, and come back to stop Mickey Bey in the 10th and final round, but in between he gets stopped by Antonio DeMarco less than a minute into their fight, and loses to Andrey Klimov, more recently seen getting whitewashed by Terence Crawford.
Perhaps some of the unevenness has been due to cutting weight, so there’s the potential that he’ll be the absolute best version of himself when he faces The Machine, Lucas Matthysse (34-3, 32 KOs). The problem for him, of course, is that Matthysse hasn’t fought since his loss to Danny Garcia last September, and he’s going to be a man on a mission.
He’ll be weary of Molina’s upside, but also well aware that if he pounces early, he could catch Molina cold and have a quick night. It may not be a 1st Round finish, but expect Matthysse to close the show.
Matthysse vs. Molina Prediction: Matthysse TKO8 Molina
Omar Figueroa vs. Jerry Belmontes Preview & Prediction
Omar Figueroa (22-0-1, 17 KOs) returns for the first time since his thrilling war with Nihito Arakawa last July. In Belmontes, the Corpus Christi Kid, he faces a capable young fighter with potential who has, however, lost his most of his step up fights.
He’s just 2-3 in his last five after starting his career at 17-0, losing to Francisco Vargas, Andrew Cancio and Eric Hunter, although his most recent effort was a win over previously unbeaten Aussie opponent Will Tomlinson.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Figueroa starts the fight slowly, a combination of ring rust after by far the longest layoff of his career, and pressure due to the high expectations which have been placed on him. He’ll shake that off in a few rounds though, and in Belmontes, with just 5 stoppages in 19 wins, he’s facing an opponent whose power he won’t have to worry about. Look for a dominant showing from Figueroa.
Figueroa vs. Belmontes Prediction: Figueroa UD12
Be sure to check back with us over the weekend to see how all of the action plays out and to catch up on the results and aftermath of the entire Showtime tripleheader.
