by David P. Greisman

Lucas Matthysse has long been highly confident in his punching power — after all, only two of his wins beforehand had gone the distance — but he didn’t think the knockout over Lamont Peterson this past Saturday would come as soon as it did.

Matthysse floored Peterson once in the second round, then twice in the third round en route to the stoppage victory, bringing his record to 34-2 with 32 knockouts and 1 no contest.

“I never imagined I was going to finish it that fast,” Matthysse said afterward at the post-fight press conference, according to translator Eric Gomez of Golden Boy Promotions. “He’s a great champion, he’s fought the best, and nobody’s ever been able to knock him out. I was expecting a tougher fight.

“The first round was a little difficult,” Matthysse said at another point in the press conference. “He moved very well. His distance control was very, very good, so the second round, I took a little more chances, I closed the gap and I know he felt my punch. That’s when the first knockdown happened, and once that happened, I kind of knew I could open up a little bit and get him out of there.”

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com