Egis Klimas, the manager of WBA lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (11-1, 9 KOs), made it clear that his boxer is not willing to move up to the junior welterweight limit of 140 pounds for a catch-weight bout with Manny Pacquiao.
This past weekend, Pacquiao captured the WBA "regular" welterweight title with a seven round stoppage of Lucas Matthysse in Malaysia.
It was Pacquiao's first stoppage win since 2009 and also his first fight in the ring since July 2017, when he lost a twelve round controversial decision to Jess Horn in Brisbane, Australia.
Pacquiao could likely get down to the junior welterweight limit with no issues, and members of his team believe he can make the lightweight limit of 135 in a safe manner.
But Pacquiao, who turns 40 at the end of the year, hasn’t fought at lightweight in ten years, since knocking out David Diaz in 2008.
The fight could set up a very familiar scenario, where Oscar De La Hoya killed his body to fight Pacquiao at a catch-weight of 147 in 2008 - which saw Pacquiao, a huge underdog at the time, batter a weight-drained De La Hoya into retirement.
According to Klimas, the only way they would entertain a Pacquiao fight is at 135 - and they are not even interested in discussing anything even a pound over that limit.
“We have no interest [in moving up],” Klimas told Chris Mannix of Yahoo! Sports. “If Pacquiao can make 135, to come in and compete for [Lomachenko’s] WBA title, Vasyl is the champion in that weight class, it’s a possibility.”
“If we are talking 137 [pounds] and 136, no, there will be no catch weight. If he wants to challenge, he needs to come down. We are not looking to go to 140 pounds. If Manny Pacquiao wants to fight Lomachenko, he can make 135 pounds.”
Lomachenko, 30, was in the ring back in May, when he stopped Jorge Linares in the tenth round to capture the WBA title at New York's Madison Square Garden.
2023-10-21 10:34:52
