9th September, 2012
Lucas Matthysse of Argentina early Sunday, cracked the iron head of Olusegun Ajose to win the WBC interim Junior Welterweight title via a knockout in the 10th round.
After a constant sledgehammer attack by Matthysse (32-2, 30KOs), the fast-moving Ajose (30-1, 14KOs), was obliterated in front of thousands of raucous fans at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las vegas.
Matthysse started slowly as the hard-chinned Ajose used his speed and agility to win the first round convincingly. Fans of Matthysse knew that their fighter is a slow starter.
Round two saw Matthysse opened up the big guns and scored some pinpoint right hands to Ajose’s chin. The Nigerian never blinked. “I thought I had him a few times,” said Matthysse, whose prior win was a knockout over Mexico’s Humberto Soto.
“It was a tough fight.” In the third round Matthysse began attacking the body and that opened up the firing lanes for
the Argentine.
Ajose kept moving around firing back but the effect of his punches didn’t seem as potent as before. It was all Matthysse from then on. The bombs flowed freely for the next six rounds but despite some eye-wincing blows Ajose kept fighting.
Finally, in round ten, a right hand snapped the Nigerian’s head violently and that was followed with a pair of big right hands and down went Ajose with a thud. It was a brutal end of Ajose. Referee Russell Mora stopped the fight for a technical knockout win for Matthysse.
“He was a hard puncher, the hardest I ever fought. But I’m disappointed in myself,” said Ajose, concluding that a good champion comes back to fight again.”
Matthysse won the WBC interim title and was very pleased by the accomplishment.
“I finally got my belt,” said Matthysse. “Now I have my dream and it’s going to be tough to take it away from me.”