Lucas Mattysse and Sebastian Lujan Look to Get One Step Closer To World Titles

Added on Aug 24, 2010 by Brian Blake in

Boxing

This Friday night a pair of Latin American fighters look to notch a couple of wins in their respective careers as they take part in the Golden Boy promoted event hosted on their home turf of Rosario, Argentina. The action can be viewed live throughout Latin America on HBO Plus’ “Next Boxing Generation” series as well as TeleFutura’s “Solo Boxeo” in the United States and Puerto Rico.

In the 12 round scheduled main event the hard hitting Lucas Matthysse (26-0, 24 KOs) puts his WBO Latino Junior Welterweight title as well as his undefeated record on the line as he takes on rugged journeyman fighter, Rogelio “Cachorro” Castaneda Jr. (26-15-3, 8 KOs) of Mexico. The two originally squared nearly two years ago that resulted in a somewhat controversial three round no contest in Texas. After two solid rounds of action a cut opened up on Castaneda which could very well have been caused by a punch, but was instead deemed to be caused by a headbutt resulting in a no contest rather than a TKO win for Matthysse.

The rematch on Friday night gives Matthysse the opportunity to obtain the result he was originally looking for. With a win over Castaneda, Matthysse would find himself in line for a title shot against WBO champion Timothy Bradley, or at the least in a title eliminator bout against Golden Boy fighter Victor Ortiz if he walks away with his September 18 bout with Vivian Harris with a win.

In the co main event of the evening fellow Argentinian, Sebastian “Iron” Lujan (33-5-2, 21 KOs) finds himself in a 10 round welterweight bout against Emilio Julio (16-7-1, 8 KOs). In his most recent outing, Lujan floored Jailer Berrio three times in five rounds before the ref stepped in to end the affair, thus giving him the vacant WBC Latino Welterweight strap. His upcoming bout with Julio will mark the first defense of his regional title. Lujan, who turned pro back in 2004, made his first bid at a world title against Antonio Margarito, coming up short as the fight was stopped in the tenth frame when part of Lujan’s ear was nearly detached.

Lujan, who is currently riding a seven bout win streak, looks to continue his ascent back up the welterweight rankings. The IBF has him in their #11 slot whereas the WBC has him ranked seventh in the world. A win over Julio might just be enough to add his name to the mix in terms of worthy challengers to Andre Berto’s WBC welterweight title.

“Next Boxing Generation,” which was launched in August of 2008 by Golden Boy Promotions in association with HBO Latin America Group, features the top up and coming Latin American fighters in boxing today in exciting bouts that will appeal to fans across all demographics. The series has seen fights take place throughout Mexico as well as inArgentina, Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, the United States and Uruguay.