Subriel Matias’ surprising points loss to Petros Ananyan three years ago taught the junior welterweight contender that he isn’t invincible.
A year after avenging that defeat by technical knockout, though, the heavy-handed Puerto Rican is completely confident that his punching power will help him win the IBF 140-pound crown. Matias (18-1, 18 KOs) and Argentina’s Jeremias Ponce (30-0, 20 KOs) will fight for that unclaimed championship Saturday night in a “Showtime Championship Boxing” main event at The Armory in Minneapolis.
Ponce, 26, will be featured on American television for the first time and is anxious to impressively introduce himself to boxing fans in the United States.
“I think that those are the more dangerous opponents because guys like him are hungry to be known,” Matias told BoxingScene.com through a translator. “They want to be seen. And I think that it’s gonna be a bloody fight. We both have a reputation for knockouts, so you could expect some heavy hitting.”
Each of the 30-year-old Matias’ 18 wins as a professional have come by knockout, but he stopped short of predicting one against an opponent who will enter the ring undefeated.
“Anything could happen, but I’m confident in my abilities,” Matias said. “I know what I can do, but I’m ready to fight one or 12 rounds, regardless of what happens.”
Handicappers have made Matias a 4-1 favorite to top Ponce, who is the IBF’s number one contender in the junior welterweight division. Ponce and the second-ranked Matias will fight for the belt former undisputed 140-pound champ Josh Taylor relinquished late last August.
“I wanna say thank you to the fans that are gonna come out and support us in Minneapolis,” Matias said, “and also the ones that are gonna be watching on TV, too, because they’re gonna be the real winners. They’re gonna see a war out there and you’re not gonna wanna miss it, because when it comes to Latin fighters going at it, you’re guaranteed a show.”
Ponce and Matias will square off in the 12-round main event of a tripleheader scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime.
Minneapolis’ Jamal James (27-2, 12 KOs), a former WBA world welterweight champ, will be matched against Argentina’s Alberto Palmetta (18-1, 13 KOs) in Showtime’s 10-round co-feature. Junior welterweight Elvis Rodriguez (13-1-1, 12 KOs), a southpaw from the Dominican Republic, is set to box Joseph Adorno (17-1-2, 14 KOs), of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the 10-rounder opener of this telecast.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.