“Leading into his fight against Lamont Peterson at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Lucas Matthysse was a fighter whose notoriety exceeded his exploits. That he was a ferocious puncher was undeniable—as was the craft with which he delivered those destructive blows—but a reputation based on victories over the likes of Humberto Soto and Ajose Olusegun seemed unwarranted, if not completely unjustified. Durable and skilled, Peterson was considered the first legitimate threat to Matthysse since his dubious defeat at the hands of Devon Alexander in 2011. In a fight that was never competitive Matthysse destroyed Peterson, whom referee Steve Smoger saved at 2:14 of the third round. It was a chilling performance, one that would surely have reconciled Matthysse’s achievements with his reputation had the latter not already taken on a life of its own.”

Read Machine Head: Lucas Matthysse TKO3 Lamont Peterson on The Cruelest Sport.

“A room full of monkeys plunking away on typewriters would struggle to script a scenario where Amir Khan is anointed the grand prize of a junior welterweight tournament. Yet this is what Golden Boy Promotions proposed when they hatched their plan to pit the fighters in their 140-pound stable against each other. Khan has since decided to move to welterweight in pursuit of Floyd Mayweather, Jr., but thankfully the tournament persists. For however bogus Khan’s seeding in the tournament was, the path to determining Golden Boy’s best junior welterweight is almost guaranteed to satisfy the sanguinary. That path stands to get littered in gore this Saturday, when Lucas Matthysse faces Lamont Peterson at Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.”

Read “The Violent Men: Lamont Peterson-Lucas Matthysse Preview” on The Cruelest Sport.