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There will come a day when the legendary career of the eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao, turned professional in 1995, will come to an end. The fear, for some, is that the expiry date will be this Saturday.
Pacquiao (59-7-2), who turns 40 in December, will bring his waning star to the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to challenge slugger Lucas Matthysse (39-4, 36 KOs ) for the secondary of the WBA. welterweight title (ESPN +, 9 pm ET).
What is not easy to determine on the surface, is if Matthysse, the beloved Argentine fighter, is simply a big name just as pale for Pacquaio, or the potential of some Worse thing – Something of a "trap" the opponent to someone's able because of his power to send "PacMan" involuntarily to retirement.
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The thoughts of the latter are fueled not only by the age of Pacquiao or the fact that it is fresh from a defeat challenged to Jeff Horn's Last summer in July. Rather, it is whether Pacquiao, who is a full-time senator from time to time in his homeland in the Philippines and owner / player of a professional basketball team, takes his career as seriously as he does. He needs it at such a vulnerable time.
While many observers felt that Pacquiao had done enough to defeat Horn by losing his controversial WBO welterweight title, there was little doubt that Pacquiao had visibly lost a little more speed # 39; explosion. But was it a case of becoming old for Pacquiao, or just a clumsy style of a hungry opponent who was caught too lightly?
Anyway, Horn managed to close the distance and break Pacquiao (including a cut above his eye that visibly disturbs the Filipino icon) in a way unheard of since the last rivalry between Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Those who fear for Pacquiao to enter Saturday point to the directionless direction of his career in recent years. Due to tax problems in the United States, Pacquiao was forced to travel in search of big earnings while generously bleeding money in his personal life en route.
|
Manny Pacquiao -210 |
Lucas Matthysse (c) +170 |
Light-middleweight |
| Moruti Mthalane N / A | Muhammad Waseem N / A | Flyweight title |
| Juan Miguel Elorde N | Rachanon Sawangsoda N / A | Lightweight Junior |
| Theena Thayalan N / A | Siddharth Varma ND | Welterweight |
* Odds via Bovada
Pacquiao also chooses to train exclusively in the Philippines after breaking the ties with Freddie Roach coach and Hall of Fame member for the camp. from a friend and corneman Buboy Fernandez. What aggravated things publicly, is that Pacquiao, who would have been upset at Roach for telling him that he should retire after the loss of Horn, never told his former coach of the decision and let him discover by the media.
Pacquiao also insisted on his fledgling promotional equipment to handle the fight and not on Top Rank, which claims that he still holds the contract fighter. But after MP Promotions missed many payment deadlines to fight the pay-per-view deal in America, Top Rank acquired the US broadcast rights and moved it to the broadcast platform. ESPN at the eleventh hour.
If Pacquiao were to enter the fight as unprepared while he was watching against Horn, there is no doubt that Matthysse is the wrong opponent to face. Although the former 140-pound title holder lost throughout his career, he's been following a two-game winning streak after a disappointing loss to Viktor Postol in 2015 and remains a dangerous puncher with bad intentions.
Whether we end up seeing the Pacquiao of yesteryear or just an old Pacquiao, the potential for action remains high, especially with the two fighters operating at the twilight of their respective careers. It's about a gonzo fans' clash just five years ago and one that's holding a special note since Matthysse was publicly labeled "the new Manny Pacquiao" by former promoter Richard Schaeffer after his 2013 knockout of Lamont Peterson.
Prediction
Pacquiao's level of concentration and his physical state remain the intangible key to the competitiveness or dangerousness of this fight.
One thing that is in favor of Pacquiao is that we have already come here, ready to dismiss him as an elite fighter after losses to Marquez and Floyd Mayweather, to see him come back as a refined boxer and more cautious. What will be most interesting to see, is whether Pacquiao can reinvent itself again, while retaining sufficient speed and skill to surpass Matthysse, less refined.
The other factor if you are building a case for Pacquiao would be how much Matthysse has come to light, sometimes being a head runner. Although he deserves ample credit for biting and surviving John Molina Jr. and Ruslan Provodnikov in the fighting fights of the year, he also folded or lost the championship to adapt when He is behind in his biggest fights.
Regardless of Pacquiao's version, it is likely that he will have to channel his brawling spirit in order to hurt Matthysse if he hoped to keep his opponent out of it. But while Matthysse also comes in probably the biggest puncher, largely because Pacquiao has not recorded a knockout this decade, Pacquiao still excels at landing clumsy shots that you do not see coming.
Expect Matthysse to make things uncomfortable and even hurt, and make Pacquiao fall. But you can also expect to see PacMan dive and maybe have to dump the pot for the kind of final position that every great fighter seems to be producing shortly before being forced to abandon it.
Capture: Pacquiao via TKO10.
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