Adrien Broner Vs Lucas Matthysse: Network Duel

By “The Commissioner” Alan J. Kindred

Whose side are you on? HBO and Showtime both have compelling cards on this Saturday night, the third of October. Unfortunately you can only watch one live (unless you have a two TV setup that is), and hopefully watch the other one later by way of tape delay, DVR, or YouTube. For me, there is a lot lost in translation, if you know what I mean, when a bout is not live. For instance, you can’t root and yell at the TV of a non-live event, the way you can one that is live, unless of course you are by yourself, and that is your thing. Your friends and family might think you’re crazy yelling at a TV screen, when they can see the results on their smart phone of a bout that took place hours ago. This is one reason why I always weigh heavily on choosing the correct card for my fan style, whenever there are dueling boxing cards on; I love to watch my boxing live. So let us dive into the content of these competing boxing cards so we can all determine which card is for you. They both have reasons we might want to watch.

On the Showtime card in the main event we have RSR #6 Adrian Broner, 30-2, 22 KO’s, taking on RSR #18 Khabib Allakhverdiev, 19-1, 9 KO’s for the vacant WBA 140 pound world title. This supposed “world title” is the selling point of the SHO card, as Broner will be attempting to become the youngest boxer in history to win world titles in four different weight classes. He has won world titles at 130, 135, and 147 pounds. He will be attempting (and is favored to do so) to win a world title at 140 pounds. He has never won a lineal world championship however, in this era of watered down championships. The bout itself figures to be a competitive one, and not a blowout, between two world class Junior Welterweights. I know that not all fans buy into the whole “4 weight classes thing” but it is a selling point. Watered down era or not, no one has done it this young. That is of course if Broner can actually pull it off, because Allakhverdiev is a southpaw, world class, and not coming to lay down. He will be coming to win. His one loss to Jesse Vargas was a controversial one, as many still consider Allakhverdiev an undefeated fighter.

In the co-main event, in a Junior Lightweight bout, RSR #10 Jose “Sniper” Pedraza, 20-0, 12 KO’s, defends his IBF title against unranked Edner Cherry, 34-6-2, 19 KO’s. Cherry seems to have been around forever, but is still only 33 years of age. That said, it is hard to say what he has left at this point in his career. It was in 2008 the last time he was on the big stage, losing to Timothy Bradley, and it was also the last time he has lost. So he has gone undefeated in the last 7 years, but he also hasn’t fought super elite opposition either, even having to win by majority decision against a 19-13-1 fighter. He has also dropped down to Junior Lightweight after competing as a Junior Welterweight and Lightweight most of his career. So there are a lot of intangibles which make it hard to read whether he is going to be a lamb to the slaughter, or actually be competitive with the rising star Pedraza. Pedraza is coming off of a unanimous decision win over Andrey Klimov that won him the vacant IBF title. On paper Cherry represents perhaps the most experienced opponent Pedraza has faced, but whether or not that matters will depend on what Cherry has left at this stage of his career.

Over on the HBO card, the selling point is the filling of a lineal vacancy when RSR #1 Lucas Matthysse, 37-3, 34 KO’s battles RSR #7 Viktor Postol, 27-0, 11 KO’s, for the vacant Junior Welterweight RSR world championship, as well as the vacant WBC 140 pound world title. The unknown Postol represents a real challenge to the battle tested Matthysse, with his boxing skills, height, and underrated power. Anyone who saw Postol’s impressive victory over former European champion and world title challenger Selcuk Aydin knows that Postol is for real. That said, as good as Postol is, Matthysse is also a formidable force. Matthysse has power, experience, and his own boxing skills which he will use to disrupt Postol. If the fact that it is for a lineal vacancy, with the winner being recognized as “the man” at 140 pounds, isn’t enough for you, than maybe the fact that it may turn out to be an epic bout in its own right, might be. It is a great contrast in styles. Postol from the Ukraine will be using his height and trying to stay on the outside using the Eastern European boxing style, while the experienced boxer-puncher Matthysse will try and press to close the distance, jab and land power shots, using a vast array of styles he has picked up boxing in his home country of Argentina and throughout the world. A really interesting and possibly great fight is expected.

The co-main on HBO is another intriguing fight in the Junior Welterweight division. Former three division world champion, and RSR #8 Humberto Soto, 65-8-2, 35 KO’s, will take on rising contender RSR #13 Antonio Orozco, 22-0, 15 KO’s in a high stakes cross roads battle. Soto is gunning for a chance to gain a world title in a fourth weight class, and a victory over Orozco may grant him a world title opportunity. For Orozco, he has yet to win a world title, and like Soto, is fighting to earn a world title shot. In this classic youth vs experience contest, Soto will try and use his smarts, savvy, and guile looking to frustrate the younger Orozco at every opportunity. Orozco on the other hand will look to push the pace and make it physical, attempting to make Soto feel every bit of his 35 years. Out of all four fights being profiled, I have a sneaking suspicion that this fight might be looking to steal the fight of the night accolade.

So as you can see each bout has something to offer, as all four fights could provide decent action and drama, and each has a decent back story. After looking over all four, I have personally decided to watch the HBO card live. I think it has the superior undercard, and the superior main event. While the gimmick of Broner possibly winning his fourth world title in as many weight classes is compelling, it isn’t as compelling as what I regard as the filling a lineal world championship. There are “world titles” and then there are “world championships” if you get my meaning. Make no mistake, I will be watching the SHO card immediately following the HBO card, I just expect more drama and action from the HBO card this time.

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