By Edward Chaykovsky

The Saturday night at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Argentinian puncher Lucas Matthysse (35-3, 33 KOs) will square off with Mexico’s undefeated Roberto “Massa” Ortiz (31-0-1, 24 KOs) in a twelve round bout for Ortiz’s WBC silver super lightweight title. The fight will be the co-featured attraction of a Showtime televised tripleheader.

Mattysse returned earlier this year, winning a very tough fight with John Molina. It was the first return for Matthysse since losing a twelve round decision to Danny Garcia last September. Matthysse went down twice against Molina, before scoring three knockdowns of his own for a TKO in the eleventh.

“I think I’m a better fighter than I was when I fought Garcia," Matthysse said. "[Going down against Molina], those things happen in boxing.  You can be a great champion, but sometimes you go against someone with a lot of power.  You just get up and brush it off, and that’s what I did.  I brushed it off and got the win." 

Matthysse says Ortiz will be another tough encounter. If he wins, Matthysse wants a rematch with Garcia next.

“We’re expecting a very tough.  He’s a Mexican like all the Mexican warriors.  We’re expecting a good fight," Matthysse said. “After I win this I want Danny Garcia.  If he’s too scared of me, I’ll have to find someone else to fight for a world title."