HBO Fight Preview

Lucas Matthysse vs. Viktor Postol

On Saturday night boxing fans will have to chose between two telecasts.  They can either watch HBO whose main event pits Lucas Matthysse against Viktor Postol, or they can tune into Showtime to watch Adrien Broner do his thing.  The choice may be difficult for some, but it shouldn't be.  Matthysse is one of the most exciting and most aggressive fighters in the sport and his fights cannot be missed.  Matthysse and Postol are scheduled to go 12 rounds for a vacant WBC junior welterweight title and the fight could mark Matthysse's last at 140 pounds.

Matthysse was in tough with Provodnikov 

Matthysse goes by the nickname 'La Maquina" which translates to "The Machine" and that is a pretty good way of describing him, a knockout machine.  Offensively Matthysse is able to use a varied attack without having exceptionally fast hands.  His jab is solid and that punch allows him to get in close and really go to work.  The scary thing about "La Maquina" is that he has such tremendous power in both hands out of the orthodox stance.  Go back and look at a number of Matthysse's knockouts and you will see plenty of left hooks to the body and just as many right hands upstairs.  Also when you fight Mattyhsse there is really no place to hide because he can land his right hand from the outside and when he gets in close he kills the body.

During his career Matthysse has lost a total of three fights, and all three were very tight.  His first lost came against Zab Judah in New Jersey which may as well be Brooklyn-born Judah's backyard.  Despite dropping Judah in that fight Mattyhsse dropped a split decision.  Then against Devon Alexander he lost another split decision even after he dropped Alexander.  That fight was in Missouri where Alexander just so happens to be from.  In his most recent loss Matthysse was beaten by Danny Garcia in a fight he appeared to be controlling until his right eye completely swelled shut.  So really fans should think of Matthysse as a one loss fighter despite his 37-3 record with a brutal 34 knockouts.  Some big names loom for Matthysse should be beat Postol on Saturday night.  Whispers of a fight between Matthysse and Manny Pacquiao have been heard and Terence Crawford's name has been mentioned as well.  However, for most fans the fight they want to see most is a rematch between Matthysse and Garcia.  Yet none of those fights happen if Postol upsets the apple card come Saturday night.

Postol impressed against Aydin

Postol also happens to be an orthodox fighter and he will have a big height advantage over Matthysse in this fight.  Postol stands at 5-foot 11-inches while Matthysse comes in around 5-foot 6-inches.  Postol has pretty quick hands and a busy jab which could help keep Matthysse off of him.  If he wants to do that though Postol will need to make his jab more authoritative instead of just using it to score points.  Although none of Postol's punches have much power on them he does have a nice overhand right and he turns his left hook over quickly.  The one punch that Mattyhsse needs to be weary of, especially on the inside is Postol's uppercut.  Another positive for Postol is that he has shown a good chin and has never been knocked down as a professional.

For most of his career Postol fought in Ukraine which is why many American fight fans aren't incredibly familiar with him.  Yet in the U.S. Postol has gone 3-0 with two knockout and for his career he holds a record of 27-0 with 11 knockouts.  His most impressive performance as of late came against Selcuk Aydin who Postol knocked out in the 11th round of their 2014 fight.  As impressive as that performance was, no one will be confusing Aydin with Matthysse who should be Postol's toughest fight to date.

This bout is a serious contrast of styles.  Postol likes to keep his distance and use his jab to control the pace of a fight from the outside.  Meanwhile, Matthysse is very aggressive and loves to get inside where he can punish the body of his opponents.  Postol will really need to use his height advantage and jab in this fight.  If Postol gets pulled into a brawl he may not survive.  Postol need to keep Matthysse at the end of his jab and use his legs to dance from danger.  For Matthysse he will need to get inside to nullify Postol's height and reach advantage,  If he can continuously slip the jab of Postol he should be able to make it his fight.

PREDICTION: Viktor Postol has good legs and typically gives a good account of himself but he has never faced anyone like Lucas Matthysse.  Matthysse is a brutal fight who breaks opponents down before dismantling them.  Postol may avoid danger early but that won't last and Matthysse will hand him the first defeat of his career by the way of 12th round knockout.

Antonio Orozco vs. Humberto Soto

The co-feature for Saturday's HBO card will be a battle between two Mexican fighters in vastly different places in their careers.  Antonio Orozco is a young, undefeated fighter on the way up, while Humberto Soto is an aging veteran looking to keep himself in meaningful fights.  The bout is scheduled to go 10 rounds and the action will take place in the junior welterweight division.  

As a pro Orozco has never tasted defeat 

Orozco is an orthodox fighter who likes to get low and pop his jab.  That jab is a good weapon for Orozco, as is his straight right hand he will follow it with.  Along with those punches Orozco also has a nice looking left hook and he has a good idea of what he is doing in the ring.  The style of Orozco is an aggressive one and later in fights he does tend to get a little wild but the 27-year-old appears poised and ready to take the next step in his career.  Before he can do that however, he will need to get passed a veteran who has seen it all.

Orozco made his professional debut in 2008 and has lost a fight yet.  His career record is an impressive 22-0 and his 15 knockouts shows that he has some pop on his punches, but he wouldn't be considered a true heavy hitter.  His best opponent to date was probably Emmanuel Taylor who he fought, and beat in May of this year.  Besides a few veteran fighters who were passed their primes most of Orozco's resume is filled with young, sub par fighters.  

Soto was impressive in his last bout with Molina

Soto also fights out of the orthodox stance and he likes to play the role of aggressor.  The veteran fighter doesn't use his jab as often as it should because his hands are quick enough to have a good one, but he does throw a very nice straight right hand.  One thing Soto does that is very different is that he will often start a combination with a straight right hand and follow it up with a jab, the opposite of what most fighters do.  When it comes to his crooked punches Soto has a wild left hook and the same goes for his right hand.  

When it comes to experience Soto has a big advantage.  He has been fighting professionally since 1997 when Orozco was just 10 years old.  In that time he has faced high quality opponents like Rocky Juarez, Lucas Matthysse, and John Molina who he beat in his most recent fight.  During his career Soto has gone 65-8-2 with 35 knockouts and his last loss was against Matthysse back in 2012.  Since that loss Soto has gone 7-0 but only scored one knockout, so if he beats Orozco it will probably be on the scorecards.

This fight will be an interesting one if for nothing more than the contrast of the fighters.  This will be a step up fight for the young Orozco and he will be looking to prove he can hang in there and beat a tough veteran like Soto.  However, Soto isn't exactly over the hill and looked good in his last bout.  For Orozco this fight is about keeping his name relevant so he can continue to land fights on high profile cards like this one.

PREDICTION: This could be a fight where the veteran takes the young prospect to school.  While Humberto Soto isn't going to dominate Antonio Orozco by any means he will have enough veteran savvy and skills to beat the younger fighter with a unanimous decision.