Philippine senator and boxing hero Manny Pacquiao, left, delivers his speech while Argentine WBA welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse, right, listens during a press conference in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. The two are scheduled to fight on July 15 in a World Boxing Association welterweight title fight in Malaysia. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Let’s salute and welcome Lucas Matthysse, also thank him for giving the Filipino national treasure Manny Pacquiao a crack at the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight crown.
They have been scheduled to dispute the championship in Kuala Lumpur on July 15.
On Sunday, Matthysse was quoted as saying he does not think of anything but to knock out Pacquiao.
The way Matthysse sounded, he clearly meant he wanted to retire Pacquiao honorably, not with a shallow, messy win on points.
Pacquiao said he considers himself the underdog, although he has been declared an early favorite, based on initial sports book placements.
Veteran promoter Bob Arum called the fight pretty even, a toss-up.
It could go either way, although Matthysse has an edge in knockout achievements. He has stopped 36 of his 39 victims.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, has registered a total of 39 knockouts out of his 47 victories.
Matthysse has lost four times, compared to Pacquiao who has suffered a total of seven defeats.
In the area of defeats inside the distance, Pacquiao has been knocked out a total of three times, Matthysse has been stopped only once.
Curiously, it was noted that Matthysse was stopped by Viktor Postol with a short right shot in the 10th round in suffering his lone defeat by knockout.
Dong Secuya, Philboxing.com founder and chief editor, has noted that trainer Freddie Roach worked Postol’s corner in that bout.
“This should show if Manny has anything left to offer to the sport,” said former world champion Shawn Porter.
Porter said anything short of sensational would cast a doubt on the ability of Pacquiao to compete at a high level.
Knockout or no knockout, Pacquiao needs something extra special to show he has the right to remain at center stage.