Argentine slugger Lucas Matthysse will face unbeaten Nigerian Ajose Olusegun. Olusegun isn’t much known to the American public which is the main reason for his so called fame as a feared fighter. Olusegun has been the mandatory to the WBC strap that Danny Garcia flaunts. Olusegun has been waiting for his shot at the champion, the owner of that belt since before the first Garcia vs. Morales fight.
While I don’t believe he’s as much as a feared fighter as his publicist makes him out to be in the media he does pose numerous threats to any fighter at 140 lb division, being huge for the weight at 5’9” and with a reach of 71”. I can see why guys are not lining up to fight a guy they may not look good against and there’s little to no demand for.
Olusegun is now thrown in yet another eliminator bout for a belt he should have fought for long ago. Olusegun will now get his chance and if he can beat Matthysse in September, he will then be in line to fight the winner of Garcia-Erik Morales II (set for Oct. 20th in New York) for the full WBC crown.
Standing in his way is the Argentine junior lightweight version of Sergio Martinez. After some questionable and controversial split decisions to Zab Judah and Devon Alexander, Matthysse returned with an impressive dismantling of a game but over powered Humberto Soto. Matthysse, 31-2(29) KO’s, is the harder puncher, with more experience against the elite level opponents, should be everyone’s favorite in this fight.
Olusegun had fought almost exclusively in the UK and he now resides in New York City. His only fight on US television was when he finally became the mandatory challenger for the WBC light welterweight title on 30 September 2011, with a win over Frenchman Ali Chebah in Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, CA televised on Showtime’s “ShoBox: The New Generation.”
Both fighters certainly made some fans that night with their all-out war Olusegun made some mistakes a more polished fighter could capitalize on. Olusegun threw a higher volume of punches, many of which were wild looping shots. The fight, which went the 12 round distance, saw Olusegun put his opponent down twice in the 3rd round to line up a potential fight against then champion Erik Morales for the full title.
That day wouldn’t come as Morales opted to fight Danny Garcia only to lose his title on scales and lose his pride in the ring to a younger, hungrier lion. Olusegun height can be a key factor but his lack of top tier opponents may be the mitigating factor in not coming up victorious.
If Lucas Matthysse possesses half the skill the boxing world believes he has, we should be seeing him lining up for a world title shot with the winner of Garcia-Morales 2. Lucas Matthysse’s hard punching body attack should slow the taller man down and bring him down to size in a matter of a few rounds.
Matthysse may feel this title was supposed to be his all along because a title shot was in order. Matthysse ended up missing out on a fight for the vacant WBC light welterweight belt last year when he got sick with the flu while scheduled to fight Erik Morales in September of 2011. It’s going to be tough for Olusegun to get past Matthysse who has a good set of boxing skills, some decent patience, and big knockout power.
