Sunday 4 October 2015 10:26, UK
Viktor Postol maintained his unbeaten record by knocking out Lucas Matthysse in the 10th round to claim the vacant the WBC super-lightweight title on Saturday at the StubHub Centre in California.
Much of the talk in the build to the fight was the potential clash between Matthysse and Manny Pacquiao, however the Argentine's dream of facing the Filipino was brought crashing down to earth by a devastating knockout defeat.
Postol (28-0-KO12), ranked No 1 in the division by the WBC prior to the bout, ended the fight with a thumping right hand that sent Matthysse crashing to the canvas. He was unable to rise to his feet and told the referee he would not be able to continue.
Matthysse (37-4-KO34) had started the fight strongly and connected with a number of solid punches, but as the rounds wore on Postol began to control the action. The Ukrainian connected with firm jabs and stern body punches in the fourth, rattling Matthysse who had been the favourite to claim victory ahead of the fight.
Postol, trained by Freddie Roach, continued to successfully land punches, with Matthysse becoming more erratic and failing to connect with any real power. Matthysse briefly regained his composure in the seventh, landing with a flurry of jabs much to the delight of the boisterous crowd.
But his joy was short lived. Postol ending the contest in 10th with a thunderous right hand and he was quick to credit his coach for his knockout victory.
"The punch felt natural to me because we practice it over and over at Wild Card," Postol said. "I started boxing when I was 12 years old in a gym outside of Kiev. My ultimate goal was to win a world championship even when I was a little boy.
"I made a decision to come to America, which is the mecca of boxing. This is my third fight with Freddie Roach. I am the world champion because of Freddie and my other trainers at Wild Card.
"They taught me and they gave me strategy. During this fight, they told me what to do. I followed Freddie's instructions and I threw that last combination to win the fight"
Roach added: "Before the last round, I told the corner he [Matthysse] was dead tired and ready to go out. And, I told that to Postol."
