At the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York, the match between Puerto Rican Subriel Matias (23-2, 22 KOs) and Dominican southpaw Alberto Puello (24-1, 10 KOs), the reigning WBC super lightweight champion, took place just a few hours ago.
Puello is a mobile, technical boxer who prefers to move along the ropes and box from the outside, avoiding exchanges at close range. He has excellent physical attributes and earns respect in the ring despite not being particularly powerful — as shown by his low KO percentage (41.67%). Nevertheless, Alberto is a solid fighter who can implement his game plan and, above all, maintain composure throughout the fight, as demonstrated in his wins over Sandor Martin and Gary Antuanne Russell.
For his second title defense, he faced an opponent with a completely different style. Matias, a former IBF super lightweight champion who lost his belt to underdog Liam Paro, came into this bout nearly a year removed from that unexpected defeat — a loss likely due to underestimating Paro and struggling with a stylistically difficult matchup. In that fight, Matias’s aggression was neutralized by the Australian’s movement and straight punches: the Puerto Rican absorbed a whopping 212 jabs over 12 rounds, exposing clear defensive gaps as well as problems cutting off the ring and managing the pace, starting slowly in a way that benefited his opponent.
Following the loss, Matias went back on the hunt for a title, reaffirming his reputation as a KO artist: when he wins, it’s always by stoppage, thanks to his aggressive style built on relentless pressure, high punch volume, and heavy hands.
As expected, Matias took on the role of aggressor, although he started cautiously in the opening round, taking more shots from Puello, who worked well to the body and head. Puello’s great mobility and effective straight punches initially troubled Matias. But from the second round on, Matias began to rev up the engine, displaying his signature forward movement — somewhat stiff in the upper body, reminiscent of Antonio Margarito.
Matias started targeting Puello’s body in an effort to slow down his constant movement. However, this approach left him more exposed to counters from the Dominican, who smartly landed and clinched to stifle his opponent’s offense. On defense, Matias showed some flaws: too stiff in the torso and limited in his footwork, he pressed forward in a straight line. Still, his relentless pressure began to pay off toward the end of round three. His body work, though not always precise, managed to slow Puello down, forcing him to clinch in order to catch his breath.
By the midway point of the fight, with the bout evenly matched, Puello began to show signs of fatigue and less mobility, overwhelmed by Matias’s chaotic but relentless onslaught. Puello’s punches during this phase became less accurate — a clear sign of exhaustion. Matias capitalized by continuing to wear him down, unfazed by the champion’s increasingly ineffective shots.
From the eighth round on, however, Puello seemed to snap out of it and, aided by a bit of fatigue that began to slow Matias down, he resumed working effectively, opening the round with a nice straight–jab–straight combination. The Dominican southpaw began moving more consistently and landing with greater accuracy and cleanliness, showcasing a technique clearly superior to his opponent’s. Even Matias’s corner saw fit to scold their fighter, urging him to work harder and with more precision. But Matias looked tired, unfocused, and without a backup tactical plan. Puello’s strategy, on the other hand, was clear: hit and hold, to catch his breath and break the opponent’s rhythm. Lacking a bit in power, the reigning champion had to rely on perhaps too many clinches to limit the Puerto Rican’s attack. But Matias never found a way to counter Puello’s tactical approach.
The eleventh round clearly certified Puello’s superiority, in the writer’s opinion, as he opened with a beautiful right uppercut on the exit that visibly rocked Matias. Now even stiffer on his legs, Matias tried to come forward but without clarity, getting caught easily by Puello’s straight shots and uppercuts. Puello, now reinvigorated and light on his feet, controlled the distance at will. Exhausted and visibly struggling, Matias was unable to come up with any sort of variation to his tactical scheme.
With a minor cut above his left eyebrow, Matias came out for the final round throwing himself forward, but without landing anything decisive or meaningful. Puello kept moving, hitting and stepping out, often finding the target, and—again, in the writer’s view—solidifying a performance that, especially in the later stages, saw him take over, just as he had done in his last two fights, confirming his ability to handle the championship rounds.
Then came the surprise. At the reading of the scorecards, the first was a 114–114 draw, which was already enough to raise eyebrows—though perhaps justifiable by a few messy rounds with both clean and smothered punches, making them hard to score. But the two 115–113 scorecards in favor of Subriel Matias left many stunned and raised more than a few questions. The Spanish-language commentator, before the verdict was read, clearly pointed out what most had seen: “from the eighth round on, Matias’s battery had run out.” On the same page was Sergio Mora, DAZN commentator, who did not hide his skepticism.
In the writer’s opinion, this bout had a clear winner—and it was certainly not Subriel Matias. A majority decision win, no less achieved after a distinct drop-off in the second half of the fight, is about as far from reflecting the actual course of the bout as one can imagine. Without taking anything away from Matias’s brave and determined effort, this writer saw Alberto Puello as the winner, with a scorecard that could have ranged from 116–112 to 115–113, depending on how some of the tighter rounds were judged. But no more than that. Puello showcased significantly superior technique and a clear tactical plan, marked by a quieter middle phase and a strong finishing stretch. He landed the better shots, and as the defending champion, he was never clearly outperformed—not even close.
Now we have to wait and see whether Puello will be granted the chance to get his rematch and reclaim the belts that were unfairly taken from him.