Gene Blevins-Hoganphotos / Golden Boy Promotions

LOS ANGELES – Lucas Matthysse has fought some of the best junior welterweights during the last couple of years. So it’s hard to believe the Argentine fighter has yet to win a world title belt.

While he failed once before, Matthysse believes he is long overdue to capture championship gold.

He will get that opportunity on Oct. 3, when he faces Viktor Postol for the vacant WBC 140-pound title at the StubHub Center in nearby Carson.

HBO will broadcast the 12 round-bout. Opening the ‘Boxing After Dark’ broadcast will be a 10-round bout between three-division beltholder Humberto Soto and unbeaten Antonio Orozco.

Matthysse (37-3, 34 knockouts) challenged for THE RING, WBA and WBC titles in September of 2013, losing a close 12-round unanimous decision to Danny Garcia. Matthysse has won his last three bouts since that fight.

In his last bout on Apr. 18, Matthysse won a hard-fought 12-round unanimous decision over Ruslan Provodniov, a bout that many writers consider to be the ‘Fight of the Year’ so far in 2015.

Matthysse, THE RING’s No. 1-ranked junior welterweight, is ranked No. 2 by the WBC. Postol is THE RING’s No. 7-rated junior welterweight.

Matthysse’s popularity has skyrocketed over the last couple of years. His fan-friendly style has made him a must-see attraction, whether in person or on television. It is something Golden Boy, his promoter, is aware of.

“He is one of the top fighters that the fans want to see,” said Golden Boy Promotions Vice President Eric Gomez at Thursday’s press conference in Los Angeles. “Lucas never puts on a dull fight. Lucas is looking to become a world champion, defend the title, and then move on to bigger things.

“He will always put up a good fight. Lucas is the top fighter in Argentina (right now) and in the U.S. He is becoming one of the top guys here, and around the world.”

Postol (27-0, 11 KOs) became known to United States boxing fans last May when he scored a vicious 11^th-round knockout over Selcuk Aydin at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

Postol has been the longtime mandatory challenger for the WBC title. Rather than face Postol, then-champion Danny Garcia reportedly paid Postol and his team step-aside money while facing the likes of Rod Salka and Lamont Peterson in over-the-weight non-title bouts.

Now Postol receives his opportunity on Oct. 3 against one of the more dangerous punchers in the sport.

“This is my third fight in the U.S.,” said Postol, who defeated Jake Giuriceo in his last fight on Apr. 11 in Brooklyn, N.Y. “I’m glad it’s happening in Los Angeles at the StubHub Center. Los Angeles is a second home to me. It’s where my training camp is. I know that Lucas will have more fans there, but it makes me happy to know I will have support there too on fight night.”

Postol is trained by Freddie Roach and managed by Vadim Kornilov.

Gene Blevins-Hoganphotos / Golden Boy Promotions

The combination of the StubHub Center and Matthysse should bring about a significant crowd. Last April at StubHub, Matthysse survived two knockdowns to eventually stop John Molina in the 11th round.

The bout was voted as the ‘Fight of the Year’ for 2014 by the Boxing Writers Association of America. A trophy was presented to Matthysse at the press conference.

Given his penchant for exciting bouts and devastating knockouts, could something impressive take place on Oct. 3?

“What can I say? I’ll see you on Oct. 3,” said Matthysse. “I am excited to be back in Carson. The fans can expect a great fight. I’m very delighted to be fighting for the world title against Viktor Postol and that the time has come for me to fight for the world title.”

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing