Viktor Postol hacked out a devastating 10th round knockout (KO) on Argentine brawler Lucas Matthysse Saturday to win the vacant 140-pound world title and remain perfect (28–0, 12 KOs).
The Iceman was hardly given attention, seeing that Matthysse and his camp were seemingly looking a bit too far forward for a possible fight with Manny Pacquiao who is expected to return to the ring in 2016.
Matthysse became the surprise favorite as Pacquiao's next opponent, but with the stunning KO loss, all those may have just now vanished into thin air.
A right hand sent Matthysse and his dreams crashing, which should give British boxer Amir Khan the nod as Pacquiao's return bout opponent. At least for now, Khan is the only other shortlisted name that has been mentioned aside from Matthysse.
"He's a really great opponent, really strong," Postol, who is from Ukraine, said through a translator via ESPN. "I didn't want to knock him out. I didn't plan to do that. I just came into the fight and wanted to relax and box, and do what I do best. And the knockout came. It's all great," he added.
With Matthysse's name crossed out, it remains to be seen if Khan does indeed have the inside track. Recall that there are other names still on that list — Juan Manuel Marquez, Terence Crawford, and Kell Brook.
But as reported in the recent weeks, it was a choice between Khan and Matthysse. All that is subject to change, however.
Like in the case of Crawford who will go up against Dierry Jean on Oct. 24, an impressive performance could line him up for Pacquiao. If not, he could be set up as Postol's next opponent instead.
"Postol will be a force in the 140 and 147 divisions. He is difficult to fight against. Top Rank will have a lot of big fights scheduled for him," says Top Rank promoter Bob Arum.
Check out the highlights of that match below.
