By Ian Palmer
Argentine slugger Lucas Matthysse will take on undefeated Roberto Ortiz of Mexico this Saturday, September 6 in a 10-round junior welterweight bout with the winner in line for a world title shot.
In Boxing Betting Lines, bet365 has Matthysse at 1/8 to win the bout with Ortiz at 5/1.
The 31-year-old Matthysse enters the ring with a record of 35-3 with 33 Kos while the 28-year-old Ortiz is 31-0-1 and has 24 Kos to his name. Ortiz stands 5-feet-9-inches tall which will give him a 2.5-inch advantage over Matthysse and he also has a negligible half-inch reach advantage. Experience-wise, the bout’s pretty even as Matthysse has boxed 152 rounds as a pro compared to Ortiz’s 140. However, Matthysse has definitely fought the tougher opponents throughout his career and this will be a huge step up in class for Ortiz.
Matthysse is known for his tremendous knockout power and Ortiz also has some pop in his fists so this fight could produce some fireworks. Matthysse has taken on the likes of Humberto Soto, Vivian Harris, John Molina, Lamont Peterson, Danny Garcia, Devon Alexander and Zab Judah over the past few years and was beaten on points by Garcia, Alexander and Judah, who all outboxed him in close bouts. Matthysse’s last fight was against Molina earlier this year and he was dropped twice before getting up to stop his opponent in the 11th round.
Ortiz’s toughest opponents so far have been Reyes Sanchez and Jorge Romero. If he manages to win this fight he’ll become a household name overnight, so he has a lot to gain here and should be very motivated. Matthysse looked like he had a solid chin up until meeting Molina and this could be a concern to him considering the way he fights. He throws a lot of fast combinations from all angles, but isn’t too hard to hit as he likes to gamble that he’ll land first and the hardest.
Ortiz is also a non-stop action boxer who has power in both hands. He’s usually the aggressor and has taken some good shots in the past without succumbing to them. Due to the style similarities between these two, fans should expect to see a lot of punches thrown and a lot of punches landed. There’s a good chance the bout is simply going to come down to the ability to take a shot. If that’s the case then they’re both likely to go out hard right from the opening bell and try to end this thing early.
Matthysse has lost three fights in his pro career and they were all to superior boxers. However, the losses to Alexander and Judah were split decisions and quite controversial. He also dropped both of them in their bouts. Matthysse doesn’t seem to have any problems when facing brawlers since he has had more power than all of his opponents in the past and eventually wore them down before catching them and taking them out. The only way Ortiz will have his hand raised in victory here will be if he stops Matthysse. It’s a possibility, but it’s not likely to happen. Look for Matthysse to win this bout by stoppage anytime after the opening bell.