Around the Net: Zab Judah vs Lucas Matthysse Pre-Fight Edition

Zab Judah continues his quest to remain relevant when he takes on Lucas Matthysse in the main-event of tonight's HBO doubleheader. Though it's been years since the talented former welterweight king defeated an elite opponent, he did look good last time out in dispatching Jose Armando Santa Cruz and is a strong favorite to topple his Argentinean opponent.

Matthysse is largely untested, with a controversial stoppage victory over a spent Vivian Harris as his best win to date.  He does bring some attributes to the table though that could trouble Judah, and his aggressive approach should make things interesting.

Let's take a look around the net for more on the junior-welterweight clash...

Bad Left Hook Weekend Quick Picks: Judah-Matthysse, Guerrero-Escobedo, and More

Frankly, I think this is a mismatch. Unless Matthysse can find Judah with a big shot, Zab is going to embarrass him. Judah's speed and overall skill is far beyond anything that Matthysse has ever seen, and let's not forget that although he has the impressive KO record (27-0, 25 KO), Matthysse wasn't exactly torching Vivian Harris earlier this year, and Harris went down every time Victor Ortiz landed a good shot on him in September. I think this is just an enormous mountain for Matthysse to climb, and it seems kind of like a sacrifice from Golden Boy Promotions. I think they know what they have in Matthysse, which is a powerful, limited brawler. Judah, though he's promoted by Main Events, could be a great future opponent for Golden Boy fighters at 140, such as Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana, Victor Ortiz, and maybe next year if rumors hold up, Timothy Bradley. An energized Zab is a tough out for anyone in the division, and I just don't think Matthysse is good enough. The puncher's chance is there, but I don't think he'll be able to find Judah with GPS. Judah TKO-9

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Matthysse is one of the maybe-powerful South Americans whose record might be inflated, might not. His brother, Walter, was most certainly powerful. The buzz on Lucas is that he's the better boxer of the two, and from what I've seen, it's accurate. I wonder about his power, though, given that his knockout of Vivian Harris was totally phony, the result of a bad stoppage. Harris, in his next fight -- a real knockout loss to Victor Ortiz -- looked totally shot. Why couldn't Matthysse knock THAT guy out genuinely? Other than that, there's not much of note on Matthysse's record.

USATODAY.com - Judah feels re-energized with return to junior welterweight

Judah said the game plan vs. Matthysse is simple.

"I'll use my speed, my fundamentals, I'll stick with my jab and set him up with something he will not see," Judah said. "I worked hard and, you know, hard work and dedication ... we're going to see if it pays off."

Judah will be making his sixth appearance on HBO, while Matthysse, 28, who has been sparring with fellow Argentine and middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, makes his HBO debut. The winner will be primed for a big fight in 2011.

"I think we're offering this fight as an opportunity to the winner to make his mark in one of boxing's best divisions right now," said Kery Davis, HBO Sports' senior VP of programming.

Fightnews.com - Q&A: Lucas Matthysse

This is the first time you’ve trained outside of Argentina, did you do anything different in training camp that you haven’t done for your previous fights?

Definitely, the only thing we don’t have in Argentina is a lot of sparring or the level of sparring partners there are here. When I got here we were able to get four southpaw sparring partners that can mimic the style of Judah and that really makes a difference in preparing for a fight. My morning runs have also changed; we ran the mountains in a place called Arroyo Verde here and that helped out a lot in the preparation.

ESPN - Zab Judah eyes junior welterweight rebirth

The winner of Judah-Matthysse will face South Africa's Kaiser Mabuza for the belt recently stripped from Devon Alexander, setting up that winner for huge business in a division that boasts a plethora of young rising stars -- Alexander, Timothy Bradley Jr., Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana and Victor Ortiz.

But Judah, because of a résumé loaded with major fights, is more well-known than any of them and his presence in the weight class sure adds some spice.

"Khan, Maidana, Bradley and Alexander may be younger than me, but I have something up my sleeve," Judah said. "Every time I go to a weight class, it's the hottest division. It was like that when I went to welterweight. Now we back in another hot division with talented fighters. I just so happen to be blessed enough to be campaigning in it and I feel great."

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Judah said recently: "I just think it is a different Zab coming into play now. More spiritual, more determined, more focused. I have more control over what I'm doing right now. I understand the game now.

"Before I was a young kid, having a lot, doing so much. Sometimes that makes it hard to stay focused. I was sidetracked, but now I'm past that. I'm older, I'm wiser and I'm experienced. I'm just ready to get to the top again."