Golden Boy Kicks off 2018 with an HBO Championship Double Header
By Anthony “Stacks” Saldaña
Saturday night at the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, California, Golden Boy Promotions brings fans a Championship double header headlined by the current WBA Inter-Continental and WBO International Welterweight Champion from Chubut, Argentina Lucas “La Maquina” Matthysse (38-4, 35 KO’s) as he takes on the undefeated Thai superstar Tewa Kiram (38-0, 28 KO’s) in a 12- round battle for the vacant WBA Welterweight Title. For Matthysse this will be his second fight under the tutelage of trainer Joel Diaz in Indio, California. “Training camp has been excellent. I did a little bit of training in Argentina before coming here to Indio. Training with Joel Diaz and the entire team has been great.” Stated Matthysse. “I know that Tewa Kiram is a hard puncher and can fight on the outside, but on January 27th I’ll become world champion. I’ve beaten the best at 140 pounds, and now I’ll beat the best at 147 pounds. A win against Kiram will put me at the top of the division.” Matthysse who is now 35 years old has came up with the short end of the stick in his last two championship fights and now hopes the third time will be a charm when he faces the undefeated Thai fighter Kiram.”I know that this is my last chance, and that’s why I took this fight, and that’s why I’ve put in a lot of effort and trained harder,” stated Matthysse at a recent media workout. The 25 year old Kiram who is somewhat of an unknown fighter to much of the boxing world is an undefeated, younger, taller fighter and although he will be making his US debut this Saturday Kiram is no a stranger to the United States. In 2011 and 2013 Kiram was a primary sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao. At a recent media workout Kiram had the following thoughts on his upcoming bout. “I have a great game plan. I can’t reveal it now, but if I find an opportunity, I’ll take it. Lucas Matthysse is coming from 140 to 147, so I feel good about that. I’ll be the naturally bigger guy in there. I’m very relaxed, even though this is my first fight outside of Thailand. I’m very happy and excited to come to America to fight for a world title. With a win, I’ll come back here very soon and fight again!” Matthysse is a 6 to 1 favorite coming into the fight, but inactivity due to allowing a broken orbital bone to properly heal, his age and the size of the unknown Kiram makes this a very intriguing fight.
In the Co-main event the WBA, WBC Diamond, and Ring Magazine Lightweight World Champion Jorge “El Nino De Oro” Linares (43-3, 27 KO’s) will put his titles on the line against lightweight contender Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta (31-1-2, 17 KO’s). Technically speaking and on paper Linares should have no problem with Gesta but Linares is definitely not over looking his formidable opponent. “The truth is that I respect Gesta.” Stated Linares in an interview with ESPN Deportes. “He’s hungry and he’s worked hard to get this opportunity. I’ve seen him a lot. I had the opportunity to train with him in 2010 when we were with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card. We had a couple of sparring rounds, he’s good, he’s left-handed, and he’s strong. It’s not an easy fight – Gesta’s no joke. He’s trained by Freddie Roach and you can never underestimate Roach. Gesta is a leftie, and he’s a boxer-puncher.” Gesta who’s only loss came in 2012 at the hands of former world champion Miguel Vasquez recently stated, “I’ve grown a lot and learned a lot since 2012, when I first fought for a world title. I learned how to take defeat, and I learned to make the most from my mistakes. Right now it’s a matter of taking all that I learned and putting it into the ring. I’m not concerned with Jorge Linares’ power, but he is fast and we’re taking that into consideration. I’ve been studying and working on applying pressure, but smartly to avoid mistakes. To my all my fans, don’t miss this great fight. I’m going to win that belt for you!”
Other Bouts include
Super Lightweights – Nicolas Lopez (33-2-1, 18 KO’s) vs Breidis Prescott (33-11, 22 KO’s)
Welterweights – DaquanArnett (16-1, 9 KO’s) vs Osbaldo Camacho Gonzales (6-1, 4 KO’s)
Lightweights – Romero Duno (15-1, 13 KO’s) vs Yardley Cruz (22-9, 9 KO’s)
Featherweights – Tenochtitlan Nava (7-0, 1 KO) vs Francisco Esparza (6-0-1, 2 KO’s)
Featherweights – Ferdinand Kerobyan (7-0, 4 KO’s) vs Lucius Johnson (4-1, 3 KO’s)
Featherweights –FranciscoJavier Martinez (4-0, 3 KO’s) vs Danny Flores (15-11, 8 KO’s)
Matthysse vs. Kiram is a 12-round fight for the vacant WBA Welterweight World Championship, and is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Arano Box and Galaxy Promotions. Linares vs. Gesta, a 12-round fight for the WBA, WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine Lightweight World Championships is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Teiken Promotions. The event is sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING.” The event will take place Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018 at the ‘Fabulous’ Forum in Inglewood, Calif. and will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.
For more information visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.hbo.com/boxing, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @hboboxing; become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing; visit us on Instagram at @GoldenBoyBoxing; and follow the conversation using #MatthysseKiram.
Tickets for Matthysse vs. Kiram are priced at $10, $25, $50 and $100, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 12 per person, go on sale Thursday, December 14 at 10:00 a.m. PST. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or the Forum Box Office (Monday through Friday 11:00 a.m. PST to 7:00 p.m. PST) at (310) 330-7300. Tickets will also be available for purchase at www.fabulousforum.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
