While Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez headline Saturday's action at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, you will not want to miss Danny Garcia vs. Lucas Matthysse.
Matthysse and Garcia are the two best fighters in the junior welterweight division, which just happens to be one of boxing's best divisions today.
Matthysse (34-2, 32 KO) is coming off one of the most thrilling performances in years, stopping Lamont Peterson in the third round after three thundering knockdowns.
Here's an excerpt from CompuBox that sums up just how dominant Matthysse's performance was in May: 31 of Matthysse’s 32 landed punches were power shots. He dropped Peterson, who had never been down in 33 fights, three times in less than nine minutes.
Get the drift?
But Matthysse will find a worthy challenger on Saturday.
Garcia (26-0, 16 KO) is coming off an absolute slugfest against Zab Judah in Judah's hometown of Brooklyn. He dropped Judah in the eighth round, then gritted out a hard-fought victory via unanimous decision after Judah relentlessly stormed back.
Garcia threw 159 more punches than Judah in the bout, landing 112 more power shots, via CompuBox.
Matthysse's outstanding performance against Peterson in May was further proof that he can stop some of the most hardy fighters. He has the highest percentage of knockouts in boxing, and that's not just because he picks fighters with no chin.
The 30-year-old Argentinian has power many would only dream of, and his right cross and left hook are true knockout punches. And while he doesn't mind exchanging blows, he's also better at feinting than other power punchers like Antonio Margarito.
As for Garcia, the 25-year-old from Philadelphia is not only a more well-rounded fighter than Matthysse, he also has more power than anybody who has fought Matthysse. He's shown in the past that he has the ability to deliver a resounding knockout.
Prediction: Matthysse, KO in six rounds
The fact that I have Garcia—Matthysse's best challenger to date—falling via knockout in six rounds has more to do with Matthysse than it does Garcia.
Garcia is basically solid across the board, but few can stand stand up to the power of "The Machine," and Garcia is no different. It only takes a couple punches—nay, one—for Matthysse to end a fight.
Also, Matthysse has shown that he can certainly take a punch. Although he suffered his first career loss to Zab Judah via split decision in November 2010, he showed in that bout that he could take a vicious uppercut and remain standing. The Argentinian has only gotten better defensively since then.
In the end, Matthysse has one thing Garcia doesn't: overwhelming power.
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