By Nick Giongco
KUALA LUMPUR – Jet-lagged and all, World Boxing Association (WBA)welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse still managed to make one thing clear.
Manny Pacquiao won’t go 12 rounds when they face off at the Axiata Arena, swears Matthysse during Friday’s press conference at Le Meridien, the second and final stop of the whirlwind promotional tour of their July 15 battle.
“This is not going 12 rounds,” said Matthysse, coming short of saying that Pacquiao won’t succeed in taking the WBA 147-lb crown.
Matthysse, making the first defense of the title he won last January, points to two vital things as reasons why he is coming up with such a bold prediction.
Pacquiao, by the time he resurfaces in mid-July, would have been inactive for over a year since his last outing – against Australian Jeff Horn in Brisbane – had taken place as far back as July 2, 2017.
“That’s going to be in my favor because he has been inactive,” said Matthysse, 35, who parades a 39-4 mark with 36 KOs.
And the second reason is what Pacquiao, who hasn’t scored a stoppage in almost a decade, lacks that Matthysse has.
“I have been in a groove lately,” said the South American, who had won the title only last January with a one-punch knockout of Tewa Kiram of Thailand in Los Angeles.
Coupled with what he believes is a huge advantage in punching power, Matthysse feels Pacquiao, who totes a 59-7-2 slate with 38 KOs, will fall short of adding the WBA championship to his vast collection.
“I am a very big puncher and this gives me a lot of confidence going into the fight,” added Matthysse, who looked alert and engaging despite having to travel for more than a day to get to Manila from Buenos Aires.
Matthysse spent a little over a day in Manila and he joined Pacquiao in a chartered Philippine Airlines flight that took off at midnight of Thursday and landed here at 3:45 a.m. of Friday.
Despite the lack of sleep and the traveling, Matthysse gamely answered question after question and he smiled when fans and even Malaysian mediamen asked to do a selfie.
“I’m enjoying the moment,” he said with a genuine smile on his face.
