Manny Pacquiao: On The Brink

Manny Pacquiao: On The Brink

Tonight the legendary Manny Pacquiao is very much a fighter on the brink. Pacquiao is coming off the upset loss to Jeff Horn last year, some say it was controversial in reality it was a close fight that could have gone either way but it highlighted further how far Pacquiao has slipped.

Horn is the sort of fighter who the Filipino would have blown away not so long ago, and when you compare how Terrence Crawford handled Horn recently it shows where Pacquiao is in terms of the elite of the division.

But Pacquiao like many greats before him is trying to fool himself that he can recapture what he once had, a battle with himself he will undoubtedly lose sooner rather than later.

Tonight in  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia the show goes on and the Argentine Lucas Matthysse defends his WBA ‘Regular’ Welterweight title against Pacquiao. Matthysse could very well inflict the final nail in the coffin of a fabulous career tonight, but he could equally be a fighter on the brink himself. Matthysse (39-4) at 35 is the younger of the two but himself needs the win to stay relevant.

Pacquiao (59-7-2) hasn’t stopped an opponent since 2009 a quite amazing statistic, somewhere, maybe because of the knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez his finishing instincts have deserted him, his opponent tonight has the sort of power that could finish his whole career, so Pacquiao would be wise to use his combinations to inflict damage and not stay in the pocket too long, Matthysse carries imminent danger in his fists.

Pacquiao is the faster fighter and that should be enough to see his career extended just a little while longer.

The odds favour Pacquiao as do I, but for me even in victory if the performance isn’t right then Pacquiao needs to accept the decline is irreversible and only one decision should be made.