Manny Pacquiao Joins the Long List of Boxers Who Have Fought On Far TOO LONG!
By Joshua “City” Brewer
Manny Pacquiao, 59-7-2, 38 KO’s, will be making his return to the ring on July 15, 2018, when he takes on Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse, 39-4, 36 KO’s. The fight will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This fight marks Pacquiao’s first return to the ring since losing his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title to Jeff Horn in Brisbane, Australia, in July of 2017. Pacquiao only had one fight in 2017 and will have gone over a year off when he faces Matthysse, a trend that is likely to continue as the Senator winds down what has been a triumphant career that saw him at one point reach global status as arguably the most popular fighter of the last decade.
Matthysse has only fought twice since 2015 after spending over a year recovering from a broken orbital bone suffered in a loss to Viktor Postol at that time. Matthysse’s most recent outing was an eighth round knockout of them undefeated Tewa Kiram in January. Known universally as one of boxing best knockout artist, Matthysse has spent the bulk of his career at junior welterweight where he racked up a bunch of wins over some of the division’s most formidable foes. He’s still largely unproven at welterweight as far as the elites of the division are concerned.
All of that aside, both Pacquiao and Matthysse are probably closer to each other’s level at this point than they would have been at any other time. Had this fight taken place at any point prior to now, consensus would have heavily favored Pacquiao. At this point, Pacquiao will still be favored to win, but eh, if he were to somehow lose I don’t think many will be shocked. This is more of a testament that at this stage of his career he’s practically a part-time fighter bordering on not even really fighting at all. His time is certainly limited but ultimately, he decides when it’s his time.
It is also reported that Freddie Roach is out as his trainer which makes one ponder what type of Pacquiao we are going to see come fight night. Whatever the case may be, Pacquiao is still a big name in boxing though he hasn’t been near the level of stardom he once was for a while. He still can put fans in seats and the money associated with such is one of the bigger reasons he’s still around. Regardless of the outcome Pacquiao is a legend of the sport. Matthysse, though, would like for a major win over Pacquiao to be his sort of “coming out” party at welterweight. This is why we watch the fights and may the best man win.
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