Lucas Matthysse and John Molina put themselves in the lead for the 2014 Fight of the Year last night at the StubHub Center, engaging in a brutal, bloody battle that saw both men hit the canvas and fight as hard as they could. In the end, Matthysse stopped the game Molina in round 11.
"It was a war. And it got complicated for me at the beginning, but we trained for this and we got the knockout," he said. "He hit me in the back of the head and I crumbled a bit but I was waiting to find my distance and I was able to finish a tough fight."
Added Matthysse, "Molina is a tough fighter. He took some big blows. I was a bit surprised he came back out for the 11th."
When asked about Danny Garcia, Matthysse said, "I want the rematch. I feel that he had very good luck that night. I want the rematch."
As for Molina, he raised his profile big-time with the fight, and surely earned a return date on Showtime in the future.
"I am very disappointed. We gave the fans a good fight and I'm happy about that," Molina said. "I wasn't well-known before this fight but I feel like I am now. I'm disappointed I didn't finish Lucas. I had him hurt, but this is a learning experience. I only had a few amateur fights, so I'm learning from every experience.
"Joe Goossen had a great game plan and we were sticking to it. Lucas Matthysse is the real deal. Even though he lost to Garcia, he still is the No. 1 rated fighter. I'd love to fight him again. I wanted to continue but the referee and judges have their jobs to do. It was a helluva fight. This was the fight of the year. I'd like to do it again."