What do you get when you match a power puncher against a punching machine? We’ll find out when the hard-hitting Lucas Matthysse - 37-3, 34 KOs - meets the relentless Viktor Postol - 27-0, 11 KOs - in Los Angeles on October 3. The vacant WBC junior welterweight title will be on the line as well, adding high stakes to an already intriguing matchup.
CURRENT ODDS
Our online boxing odds have opened with Matthysse as the favorite at -250. Postol is nearly a 2-to-1 underdog at +187. I’d expect the round total in this 12-rounder to be set at 11.5 rounds. Prop bets like when the fight will end are usually released on the morning of fight night. Remember, BookMaker updates their lines daily so these will likely shift as more action comes in.
SECOND TIME’S THE CHARM?
Matthysse previously fought for the WBC 140-pound title in September 2013, losing to Danny Garcia in a contentious fight littered with low blows from the champion. It also should be noted that Matthysse suffered an eye injury early, which clearly affected him over the second half of the fight.
“Postol isn’t anything big. He boxes well but that’s it,” said Matthysse. “I saw part of his fight against Selcuk Aydin. Postol is tall like John Molina, but Molina came to fight. Postol, I don’t think so. He moves his left very well, fights at a distance, seems fast on his feet and has excellent movement. Against Aydin he got off to a slow start but then dominated and got the knockout. He’s good, but I’m confident that I’ll be the WBC World Champion.’
The 31-year old Postol is a mystery man of sorts in the U.S., but was able to secure his claim as a mandatory challenger with a brilliant knockout of longtime contender Selcuk Aydin in May 2014. With a newly inked deal with HBO, we could be seeing a lot more of the Ukrainian soon, especially if he can win a major world title.
FIGHT ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
“It’s a really interesting fight, style-wide,” said Top Rank VP Carl Moretti. “You have a long, tall, strong fighter in Postol, who would give any 140-pounder problems. And Matthysse is clearly one of the top 140-pounders in the world. Just because Postol isn’t well known doesn’t mean he isn’t one of the top 140-pounders as well.”
Moretti pretty much nailed it. Postol is 5’11”, while Matthysse is 5’6”. There aren’t too many light welterweights that have the range that Postol does. Then again, there are only a handful of guys in that division with as much power as Matthysse. This boils down to whether Postol can control the range and keep Matthysse at the end of his punches.
I personally think this is a tough fight for Matthysse. He’s coming off a brutal 12-round war against Ruslan Provodnikov that surely shaved some time off the end of his career. While Postol isn’t as strong as Provodnikov, he makes up for it with pure volume. 100 punches per round is an easy bar for Postol to set early.
If you like betting on underdogs, you could do a lot worse than Postol. He moves well inside the ring, and Matthysse will have to work hard to cut him off and get inside. My gut says he’ll start chasing, allowing Postol to get his shots off and win the bout on points.
HOW TO BET
Sign into BookMaker Sportsbook and get all the latest Lucas Matthysse vs. Viktor Postol boxing odds, including money lines, totals and prop bets. The card takes place on Saturday, October 3 at the StubHub Center in Los Angeles, California. HBO will televise the fight live as part of its Boxing After Dark series.
Make sure to check in during fight night and get the latest live betting updates. You can bet on real-time odds during the bout, allowing you to hedge your bets or even make new ones as you watch on live television. And with Bookmaker's multiple reliable payout options, collecting your earnings is always quick and easy.
