Lucas Matthysse vs Manny Pacquiao Preview:

Lucas Matthysse vs Manny Pacquiao Preview:

By Paul Oltai

This weekend on July 15th at the Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur we see Manny Pacquiao (59-7-2) back in the ring for the first time since his shock loss at the hands of Jeff Horn, to challenge Lucas Matthysse (39-4-) for his WBA Regular belt who will be making the first defence of the belt he won in January this year.

The biggest change in this fight will be the fact that eight division champ Pacquiao will be without his long time coach and mentor Freddie Roach, having worked together for 16 years and forming possibly one of the best trainer/fighter achievement lists of modern times. Pacquiao has chosen to use a man who has been part of the Pacquiao camp for quite some time in Restituto ‘Buboy’ Fernandez and be trained in his native homeland of the Philippines.

Could this be a big mistake from the man who has credited Roach with the fact he turned him from a raw Filipino puncher into the explosive eight division world champion he is now? In the twilight of his career and in what could ultimately turn out to be his final bout if it results in a loss, is changing your coach something you should really be doing? Only time will tell.

We will see Pacquiao climb into the squared circle against vicious puncher and current WBA Regular champion Matthysse, who is coming off his title win in January against Tewa Kiram in which he won by 8th round TKO. Matthysse will be looking to bring some pride back to his home nation of Argentina after their poor showing in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

After finally securing his maiden world title in January Matthysse will be looking to hold onto the belt at all costs, hoping a convincing win over Pacquiao at the weekend can launch him into some huge fights in the Welterweight division. With rumours that Amir Khan could be mandated to fight the winner it could provide Matthysse with a huge bout in the UK.

With both fighters having been in some wars over the years and undoubtedly coming to the end of their respective careers so the question is who can turn the clock back and produce that one maybe last big night?

If we go by momentum, then we must say that coming off the win of his first world title Matthysse will be looking to keep the wheels rolling and add a legends name to his resume in Pacquiao albeit an ageing Filipino legend.

On the other hand, we have Pacquiao coming off a 12 month lay off and the loss of his WBO world title to Jeff Horn. Embarrassed by this loss to the largely unknown Horn could give Pacquiao the spark needed to prove doubters wrong and show that he still has something left in the tank.

Can Matthysse put it on the Filipino legend and make it uncomfortable for him in the same way Horn did? Can Pacquiao show that training at home and having a small lay off has given him a new vigour and hunger to prove that he is yet finished and can still be a force at 147lb? Is Pacquiao looking beyond Matthysse at some of the other big names in the division?

All of these unknown factors will surely make for a more interesting viewing, not knowing which man can implement his game plan or capitalise on the others downfalls is what makes this fight even more intriguing.