I agree. And it's not like he dominated Judah in that fight. It was close. He should have won, yes, but it was still close enough to warrant a rematch to settle the score. Definitely not a backward step for him.
With Judah having recently exposed & abused the unbeaten Paris in a high-profile TV bout, it would also give Matthysse a lot more shine now than it would have to get the nod the first time. :good
Yup. And if Matthysse was to win good -- which I see no reason why he wouldn't -- he'll make a lot of people sit up and take notice if they haven't already. And with Khan moving up, Bradley likely remaining at 147, and Peterson being out of action, Matthysse should actually move up to the number one spot on most people's 140 list. The division could very well be his to rule.
He already beat Judah pretty comfortably. To me, it didn't really appear as a close fight. In fact, I would say the Alexander fight was much closer than the Judah. That's what I remember from the time I watched the fights. But I may have to rewatch them to be sure. If a Judah fight gets him a belt then sure why not?
Not if Judah wants to finish the fight without talking to a medical team. Judah one that first fight, but all the planets were aligned. LM's first big fight, LM's respect for ZJ, ZJ coming off of a great win, etc... Even with everything in Zab's favor anyone could tell the fight was slowly getting away from him. Three more rounds with LM let alone a rematch sees Zab stopped. 10 years ago? Zab KOs LM. I say this and Zab is my dude. It was a great win for this version of Zab. It was a missed opportunity, but gained respect for LM.
I agree. From a fan's point of view, I wouldn't mind a rematch, but Matthysse's own interests point to looking ahead at bigger opponents, not in the past to secure what many see as a victory.
FINALLY, some people tlaking sense about the Matthysse/Judah fight. . . L-Matt DEFINITELY won that fight. . . Judah would have had to won 7 rounds to win. . ANd that he did not.
If you mean it plays out similarly to the first one and Zab gets the gift decision 10x of 10 - then no, I don't even agree with that. Matthysse stops him at least 30% of the time.
If "THE BUTT" agrees with you, then 9/10 (few times he talks crazy talk), you are right. . . Matthysse beat Judah 114-113 (6 rounds to 6) worst case scenario. . . But the actual "fight" - matthysse beat him worse.