LUCAS MATTHYSSE
LUCAS MATTHYSSE HAS BOXING WORLD TALKING!
Miami, FL– After the devastating KO 3 of Lamont Peterson, you heard, “I don’t know what he said, but it sounds good“ said Lucas Matthysse, when asked if he understood Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Shaffer declaring that the Argentine is the new Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KOs). In reality, Lucas is more like Puerto Rican Felix “Tito” Trinidad (42-3, 35 KOs).
DANNY GARCIA IN TROUBLE COME SEPTEMBER?
With the performance Lucas put forth, he’s been the talk in the boxing world, making the 140 lb. division even more exciting with fighters like World & WBA/WBC champion Danny Garcia (26-0, 16 KOs), Mike Alvarado (34-1, 23 KOs), Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KOs), all of whom have a style fight fans love, as any fight involving this group has a shot at “fight of the year.”
NEW LATIN RIVALRY IN BOXING
Move over Puerto Rico, Argentina and Mexico are now rivals everytime they meet as the South American country wants it’s place among Latin countries in producing boxing champions. To the unaware, Argentina has a very rich pugilistic history as boxing is part of their culture with 47 world champions, countless fights to remember, as well as a famed arena, Luna Park in Buenos Aeres.
LUNA PARK AKA MADISON SQUARE GARDEN OF ARGENTINA
You are indeed “special” fighter when you main event the venue. The native Argentine’s love their athletes, especially boxers. A fighter named Jose Maria “El Mono” Gatica (86-7-2, 72 KOs) never won a title but his exciting fighting style made him a national idol until he was killed at the age of 38. A movie was made about his life and how his early passing stung the country much than his KO 1 loss to Hall of Famer Ike Williams at Madison Square Garden in 1951.
ARGENTINE LIST OF FISTIC GREATS
Here is a list of Argentine boxers who are considered the best the country has given the sport known as the “Sweet Science.
1) Their first world champion from was Pascual Perez (84-7-1, 57 KOs) who won the 108 lb. title in Tokyo in 1954 and defended the diadem nine times until dropping it eight years later in 1959. In addition, Perez grabbed Gold at the 1948 Olympics in London, stayed undefeated for 52 fights and was enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.
2) Carlos Monzon (87-3-9, 59 KOs) 1972 Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year, Monzon became middleweight (160) champion in November 1970 when he drilled fellow Hall of Fame member Nino Benevento (82-7-12, 35 KOs) and held the record for title defenses at 14, until geriatric king Bernard Hopkins broke it.
3) Nicolino “The Untouchable” Locche ( 117-4-14, 14 KOs) was the 140 lb. titleholder from 1969 to 1971 with five defenses. Some consider his defensive skills as good or better than Willie Pep (229-11-1, 65 KOs), Wilfred Benitez (53-8-1, 31 KOs) and Pernell Whiker ( 44-4-1, 17 KOs), that’s saying something as Locche was too inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2007.
4) Oscar “Ringo” Bonavena ( 58-9-1, 44 KOs) never won a world title but was the first man to knock Joe Frazier down and fought the best of a golden era of heavyweights. He gave Muhammad Ali a hell of a fight until being halted in the last seconds of the 15th round. He was shot to death at a legal brothel near Reno, NV, this after he got involved in an affair with Sally Conforte, whose husband Joe ran the legal house of prostitution.
5) Luis Angel Firpo (31-4, 26 KOs) some call him, “the father of Argentine boxing,” yet he never won a world title. Most fans remember him as the man who knocked Jack Dempsey (65-6-11-1, 51 KOs) threw the ropes. Word has it that baseball great Babe Ruth helped Dempsey back into the ring.
6) Victor Galindez ( 63-9-5, 41 Kos) first to win a title at home in Argentina. On December 7, 1974, Victor became light heavyweight (175) champion and defended it ten times. His most memorable victory was a KO of Richie Kates in the last seconds of their 15 round fight, one in which Galindez was losing.
7) Pablo Chacon (54-7, 37 Kos) Won 1996 Bronze in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. In 2001, he grabbed the WBO belt at 126.
8) Jorge Barrios (50-4-1 1, 35 KOs), His memorable fight was against Arcelino Freitas (39-2, 33 KOs) for the WBA/WBO 130 lb belts and they gave fight fans the 2003 Ring Magazine Round of The Year (11).
9) Juan Martin Coggi (75-5-2, 44Kos) held the 140 lb. title on three occassions over an almost ten year span.
10) Justo Suarez (24-2-1, 14 KOs) Even though he never won a title, Suarez has a street named after him and a statue in his home town Mataderos, Argentina.
Manny Caballero