Dangerous welterweight puncher Lucas Matthysse, 35 years old, is hoping that his third time will be the charm.

Matthysse failed in his two previous attempts to capture a world title. In 2013, he lost a twelve round decision to then unified junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia. And in 2015, Matthysse was knocked out for the first time when he was lost to Viktor Postol - as they fought for the vacant WBC junior welterweight title.

On January 27, Matthysse will get his third title shot when he battles undefeated Tewa Kiram at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The vacant WBA "regular" welterweight title will be at stake.

Matthysse (38-4, 35 knockouts) has been training with Joel Diaz in Indio.

Because he suffered a fractured orbital bone in the loss to Postol, he was out of  the ring until May of 2017, when he made his move to the welterweight division and knocked out Emmanuel Taylor.

He expects a very tough challenge from Kiram (38-0, 28 KOs), which is why the Argentinean boxer is doing everything possible in camp, because he wants to come away with the WBA belt for himself and for Argentina.

“I know this is going to be a tough fight,” Matthysse told The Desert Sun. “That’s why I’m here in Indio, to get what I need to win this fight, which I see as very important to my career.”

“I felt great after my last fight. The time off gave me time to refresh, and now I’ve had nine more months off and I’ve increased my training to get to another level. I feel good. This training camp has felt good, and I think I’m getting the training here that will put me in a position to win a world title.”

After his last performance, Diaz believes the old Matthysse is finally back and he expects him to be in dangerous form come fight night.

“He was just as dominant as before,” said Diaz. “He’s given it everything he has. He’s motivated for this fight.”