Philippines’ Manny Pacquiao attends the weigh-in in Kuala Lumpur on July 14, 2018, ahead of his world welterweight boxing championship bout against Argentina’s Lucas Matthysse on July 15. / AFP PHOTO / Mohd RASFAN
Manny Pacquiao will step inside the ring at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Sunday exactly a year and 13 days since his last fight against Jeff Horn in Brisbane. Australia.
The long hiatus, however, has reinvigorated Pacquiao, who will be going for his 60th win and 12th title against Lucas Matthysse for the WBA welterweight crown.
“Now I feel hungry to fight in the ring,” said Pacquiao, who tipped the scale at 146 pounds during the official weigh-in on Saturday.
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“It’s been one year and it’s been that long,” Pacquiao added in Filipino.
The 39-year-old Pacquiao said having that desire to be back fighting again is a testament to how passionate he is about boxing.
After splitting his last four fights, Pacquiao said the fight against Matthysse will tell if he can still continue boxing on top of his role as a public servant in the Philippines.
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Pacquiao, who held his training camp in General Santos City, added he’s mentally focused heading into the bout as evidenced by the kind of training camp his team had.
“The way I pushed myself to the limit, how I prepared myself every day in training, if I don’t have that desire anymore then, why would I even go through all of that?”