Lucas Matthyssee, seen here dropping Lamont Peterson en route to stopping the current IBF 140-pound beltholder in 2013, has signed a promotional extension with Golden Boy Promotions. Photo by Al Bello / Getty Images

THE RING No. 1-rated junior welterweight Lucas Matthysse has signed a five-year extension with Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya, who also confirmed ongoing talks for a bout with the magazine’s 4-rated Ruslan Provodnikov for March.

Nicknamed “La M├íquina” or “The Machine,” the 32-year-old Matthysse (36-3, 34 knockouts) has scored consecutive stoppages in the 11th and second rounds over John Molina last April and previously unbeaten Roberto Ortiz last September.

“Lucas is a boxer who fights for pride and everlasting respect from his fans,” said De La Hoya, confirming an earlier report on the Al Haymon-advised boxer’s deal with Golden Boy. “We have come to an agreement to continue our working relationship until Lucas retires.”

Matthysse last suffered defeat by unanimous decision to undefeated RING champion Danny Garcia, being floored in the 11th round by the WBA and WBC titleholder during their bout in September 2013.

Prior to facing Garcia, Matthysse had boasted a 4-2 record, with four knockouts against six current or former titleholders, having floored all of them. Garcia was ringside for Matthysse’s previous fight in May 2013. That’s when when Matthysse scored three knockdowns during a third-round stoppage of IBF 140-pound beltholder Lamont Peterson in a non-title bout, representing his sixth straight knockout victory.

Matthysse also owns knockout victories over former titleholders Vivian Harris, DeMarcus Corley and Humberto Soto, as well as contender Olusegun Ajose, with his other losses being by split-decision to former titleholders Zab Judah and Devon Alexander in November 2010 and June 2011.

“We are looking at several options,” said De La Hoya. “We plan on bringing him back in March.”

Provodnikov’s promoter, Artie Pelullo, had already informed RingTV.com that he had spoken to De La Hoya regarding Matthysse.

“I have talked to Golden Boy about Matthysse,” said Pelullo. “Both sides are interested in making the fight.”

A former WBO 140-pound titleholder nicknamed “The Siberian Rocky,” Provodnikov (24-3, 17 KOs) was last in the ring for a fifth-round knockout over former lightweight titleholder Jose Luis Castillo in November.

In his previous fight in June, Provodnikov, who turned 31 on Jan. 20, lost his WBO junior welterweight title by split decision to Chris Algieri, this after having won the belt by 10th-round stoppage over Mike Alvarado, whom he dropped twice last October.

Before defeating Alvarado, Provodnikov had dropped then-WBO welterweight titleholder Tim Bradley in the 12th round of a unanimous decision loss in March 2013, a fight that was named Fight of The Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America..

Note: Matthysse’s signing comes on the heels of several of Haymon’s fighters having been released from their promotional agreements with Golden Boy Promotions as a result of the company’s settlement with former CEO Richard Schaefer.

In the wake of the separation, Haymon has spawned separate boxing series featuring his boxers that are entitled The “Premier Boxing Champions” Series (PBC), one of which is on NBC, with the other being on Spike TV.