Top Rank's CEO, Bob Arum, believes eight division champion Manny Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs) is in for a very tough fight when he steps in the ring with WBA "regular" welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (39-4, 36 KOs) of Argentina in Kuala, Lumpur, Malaysia on July 14.
This past Monday, Matthysse's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, announced the fight was finalized on social media.
Top Rank will distribute the fight in the United States on ESPN - possibly as a pay-per-view event.
Back in 2015, there was talk of a deal coming together for a Pacquiao vs. Matthysse fight in early 2016 - but Matthysse was unexpectedly stopped by Viktor Postol.
Back then Pacquiao was a huge favorite to win, but now he's 39-years-old and coming off a unanimous decision loss to Jeff Horn from last July.
Although many felt he did enough to win the contest with Horn, the majority of those critics also felt Pacquiao appeared to be a few steps off his game and starting to show his age.
Since 2016, when Pacquiao became a senator back home in the Philippines, he's become a part-time fighter with his boxing career revolving around his political work schedule.
Pacquiao will also enter this fight without the services of longtime trainer Freddie Roach - as the Filipino star will instead use close friend Buboy Fernandez. Roach has trained Pacquiao since 2001 and helped guide him to his biggest career victories.
“[Matthysse will give him] a very good run for his money and it’s a tough fight for Manny, but hopefully he will be successful,” Arum told The Manila Times.
"I think he (Pacquiao) has a very good chance, very good chance, but he got to train very hard. And you know, maybe a couple of years ago, Manny would be a big favorite but now it is a pretty even fight."
2023-10-20 18:37:22
