THE road leading to the much-anticipated return to the ring of Filipino boxing superstar Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao was further paved on Wednesday when his scheduled fight with Lucas Matthysse of Argentina, dubbed “Fight of Champions,” officially got unveiled at the City of Dreams Manila Grand Ballroom.
Happening at the 16,000-seat Axiata Arena in Malaysia on July 15 (July 14 US time), the fight will see the eight-division world champion challenge Mr. Matthysse for his World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title.
It will also have Mr. Pacquiao (59-7-2) vying for an 11th world title that would further underscore his legendary standing in the sport.
The countdown for Fight of Champions began yesterday with the first of a two-city press tour kicking off here in Manila that was attended by the headlining fighters and their respective teams as well as officials of promoters MP Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions.
The press tour next moves to Malaysia, the site of the July fight.
Fight of Champions is being touted as the biggest fight event in Malaysia since boxing legend Muhammad Ali fought there against Joe Bugnerre in 1975.
It is something that Mr. Pacquiao, as promoter and president of MP Promotions, is very proud of mounting and an event they hope to build on as a platform to foster “nation-building” in the region through sports and channeling attention to Asian fighters.
Turning his attention to the fight, Sarangani native Mr. Pacquiao, 39, said his fight with Mr. Matthysse is going to be an exciting one, owing to their similar aggressive style of fighting.
“This is going to be a good fight. We chose Matthysse as an opponent because he is tough and aggressive and we will have more action,” Mr. Pacquiao said.
“His style and mine are similar. We are not underestimating him,” he added.
On the part of champion Mr. Matthysse, he said he is looking forward to the fight because it was “a fight I have always wanted.”
“I worked hard to earn this title and as I much respect Manny I would not give the title up and defend it to the death,” the 35-year-old Argentinian champion said.
Adding, “I’m confident I can beat Pacquiao. He is still a good fighter but I believe not at a level as before.”
Mr. Pacquiao, also a sitting senator in the country, enters the fight off a loss to Australian Jeff Horn by unanimous decision in July last year in Brisbane. The defeat saw the Filipino pride lose the World Boxing Organization title in the process.
Mr. Matthysse (39-4), for his part, is riding a two-fight winning streak, the latest of which coming in January this year over Thai Tewa Kiram by way of knockout in the eighth round in Inglewood, California.
Fight of Champions: Pacquiao vs. Matthysse will also feature three other world championship title fights, namely, the 12-round featherweight world title fight between Filipino Jhack Tepora and Mexican Edivaldo Ortega, WBA light flyweight world title fight between Chinese Lu Bin and Venezuelan Carlos Canizales, and International Boxing Federation flyweight world title fight between Pakistani Muhammad Waseem and Saudi Moruti Mthalane.
Also on tap are five other bouts, most of which involving Filipino fighters. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

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