IBF junior welterweight champion Subriel Matias 20-1 (20) made easy work of previously undefeated Shohjahon Ergashev 23-1 (20) at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night and he doesn’t see the top names in and around his weight class faring any better.
The 31-year-old Puerto Rican powerhouse took a few rounds to hit his straps against Uzbek southpaw Ergashev, also 31, but once he did it was all one-way traffic.
After five rounds Ergashev decided he had had enough and retired from the fight at the 0:02 mark of the sixth. All three judges had Matias up by three points at the time of the stoppage, 49-46.
The bout was fought at close quarters from the get-go with Ergashev getting the better of the action in the opening stanza before Matias gradually took over, breaking the challenger’s will.
Matias said once he knew Ergashev couldn’t hurt him, victory was assured.
“When I started feeling [Ergashev’s] punches in the first round, I knew he didn’t have the power to knock me out. That’s when I started attacking,” said Matias, who is now riding a five fight win streak dating back three years.
“For left-handed southpaw fighters, I just need three or four rounds to decipher them. Then, what happened tonight, usually happens. Teofimo Lopez, Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, if you want that [IBF title], come over here and fight.”
Former WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine lightweight champion Lopez 19-1 (13) of Brooklyn moved up to junior welterweight last year and annexed the WBO 140-pound title on points with a vintage performance against previously undefeated Scottish southpaw Josh ‘The Tartan Tornado’ Taylor 19-1 (13) in his last outing at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden in June.
High profile lefthanded lightweight Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis 29-0 (27) has not boxed since his seventh-round knockout of Ryan Garcia 23-1 (19) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in April.
Former undisputed lightweight champion Haney 30-0 (15) will challenge WBC junior welterweight champion Regis Prograis 29-1 (24) at the Chase Center in San Francisco on December 9.
Neither Lopez nor Davis currently have a fight scheduled and both would make for entertaining dance partners for Matias.
The future for Ergashev looks far less uncertain. He says an injury to his leg forced his hand and saw him retire before the halfway point of the bout.
“I felt a pain and wasn’t able to move. I just couldn’t move around the ring in the last two rounds,” Ergashev said.
“Once I got hurt I wasn’t able to display any offence and I couldn’t use my defence because once my legs gave out on me.
“I couldn’t stick to the game plan. I wasn’t able to move around the ring and use angles like I did in the first two rounds.”