In the world of great reaction shots to someone getting knocked out as everyone else around them goes nuts, Marco Antonio Barrera witnessing Manny Pacquiao get KO'd > Danny Garcia witnessing Lamont Peterson get KO'd by Lucas Matt...
In the world of great reaction shots to someone getting knocked out as everyone else around them goes nuts, Marco Antonio Barrera witnessing Manny Pacquiao get KO'd > Danny Garcia witnessing Lamont Peterson get KO'd by Lucas Matthysse Saturday. Matthysse, who might face Garcia next for junior welterweight supremacy, said he thought Garcia looked worried. You decide (via).
My own view is that he didn't look especialy worried in the initial shots, maybe a touch nervous, but he was still at least putting on a front like he was eager for the fight, pointing at his chest and all that. My other view is that his outfit was the worst outfit any human being has ever worn. If you look simultaneously like a Grateful Dead fan and a Jersey Shore douche, your closet needs a controlled burn.
Garcia-Matthysse is still next on deck, according to Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer, on Sept. 7. It's the fight Matthysse wants. It's hard to imagine it happening. I'd dig it if Garcia took the fight even after Matthysse turned in a bone-chilling performance, and Garcia would take a pasting among fans if he avoided it. But I couldn't blame Garcia too much for being scared, if he is. It's not that I'd give him a pass. It's just that I'd understand.
Besides the subjects in the headline of this edition of Weekend Afterthoughts, we'll also look at what's next for the likes of Lamont Peterson and Devon Alexander, review the latest wins by Shane Mosley and Edgar Sosa and more.
Matthysse's future. No matter the comparisons Schaefer was pushing about Matthysse being the next Manny Pacquiao (yes, he is explosive) or the next Arturo Gatti (yes, he is automatic for action in Atlantic City) it's still too early to say much about him other than that he's the best power puncher in the world not named Gennady Golovkin, and I'd put Matthysse above the middleweight because he's knocking out better competition. (Best comparison I've seen for Matthysse is Kostya Tszyu, because of his combination of solid skill and big power and rat tails, even if Matthysse hasn't been rocking his lately.) I've seen him called special, and there are glimpses of it. The one thing that is without a doubt special is his power -- he can land glancing shots and people go down. That might be enough. It's certainly enough to make it so a great many fewer fans are willing to pick Garcia over Matthysse now, myself included. It's also enough to make it so he'd be a big favorite against anyone at 140; Matthysse fights will be interesting primarily for the "When will there be a knockout?" effect until he moves to 147, when his power will be second-guessed until he proves it. He's angling for a Mayweather fight, and he instantly has become the most promising potential opponent after Canelo Alvarez because of his raw power, although he'll be much more promising and have a bigger profile if he gets Garcia, and his profile is still pretty low, judging by that audience in Atlantic City. Whatever misgivings you have about crowning him the Next Great Thing, you'd have to be pretty jaded not to be excited about Matthysse's future after a performance like this one, one that was so eye-opening it didn't bother anyone that it didn't deliver the expected Fight of the Year contender.
Peterson's future. The plan for Peterson is to put him in against Zab Judah on the undercard of Matthysse-Garca in a junior welterweight doubleheader in Washington, D.C. Sept. 7. Some think the Barclays Center in Brooklyn is a better option, but Schaefer said it was booked that day. Main thing is, even if D.C. fans didn't come up in droves to A.C. to support Peterson, he is the biggest proven regional draw, and it's not like Judah's Brooklyn and Garcia's Philly are so far away as to make it a bad location. Here's a very encouraging thing about Peterson coming
