Lucas Matthysse training with coach Luis ‘Cuty’ Barrera in Buenos Aires, Argentina ahead of his Sept. 14 fight with Danny Garcia (Photo: Team Matthysse)
By Chris Robinson
The training camp of WBC interim champion Lucas Matthysse (34-2, 32 KO’s) is in full swing down in Buenos Aires, Argentina, ahead of his Sept. 14 date with WBA/WBC champion Danny Garcia (26-0, 16 KO’s) in Las Vegas.
HustleBoss.com caught up with Matthysse’s trainer Luis “Cuty” Barrera and got some insight into how camp is shaping up thus far.
“I’ve been with Lucas for ten years,” Barrera stated. “He doesn’t think about the rival; he thinks to train hard. Of course we respect Danny Garcia. I study the positive and negative things [about] Garcia, but I want to train hard with Lucas for this important fight.”
Barrera revealed that Matthysse begins his daily regimen at 7 in the morning with his strength and conditioning coach Gerardo Pereyra, whom he works with until 9 a.m.
When it comes time for Matthysse to hit the Arano Box Gym, he typically trains for two and a half hours. So far, Matthysse has been sparring with the likes of Juan Bonanni (21-5-3, 8 KO’s), Abel Adriel (13-7-2, 3 KO’s), Gustavo Vittori (5-1, 4 KO’s), and Fernando Angulo (26-9, 15 KO’s), with former world title challenger Sebastian Lujan expected to hit camp in the coming days.
“Garcia is dangerous with the left cross and the left hook, so we [work on that during] the sparring sessions,” Barrera would add.
Matthysse is already close to the junior welterweight limit of 140 pounds, something Barrera attributes to his work ethic and discipline.
“He doesn’t have problems with the weight,” Barrera added. “Now he is at 148 pounds. He eats very well; he works very well and is comfortable and strong.”
Matthysse is a fighter who has appeared to add small wrinkles to his game entering his veteran years and Barrera concedes that his fighter’s mentality changed following his split-decision defeats to Zab Judah and Devon Alexander.
“When Lucas lost his fights with Alexander and Judah, they were robberies,” Barrera stated. “I told him that he must be more aggressive to win fights. Now he is doing it but he is still a very good technical boxer; a complete boxer with a lot of resources.”
Garcia vs. Matthysse will take place on the Floyd Mayweather vs. Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez “The One” Showtime pay per view telecast from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com