Lucas Matthysse insists no eye surgery

MANILA, Philippines — WBA welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse of Argentina said the other day he never had surgery to repair a reportedly fractured orbital bone but admitted he had temporary blindness in the left eye during his knockout loss to Viktor Postol in 2015.

Matthysse, 35, was counted out by referee Jack Reiss in the fight for the vacant WBC superlightweight title at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, after he complained of losing vision. He took a 19-month layoff to heal the eye injury then returned to the ring to stop Emmanuel Taylor in five last May and Teerachai Kratingdaeng Gym in eight for the WBA 147-pound crown last January.

“I got hit in the eye by Postol,” said Matthysse in Spanish. “My eye was injured but I never had surgery. I let it heal for 19 months but I’m fine now. I’ve fought twice since Postol. My style hasn’t changed. I remain aggressive in the ring. I know I have to be at my best to beat (Manny) Pacquiao.” Postol, a Ukrainian, was once a Pacquiao sparring partner.

Matthysse will stake his WBA title for the first time against Pacquiao in the “Fight of Champions” at the 16,000-seat Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 15. It will be Pacquiao’s first fight since losing the WBO welterweight belt to Jeff Horn in Brisbane last July.

Matthysse revealed in 2013, he suffered a fractured left cheekbone and a broken jaw in losing a unanimous 12-round decision to Danny Garcia in a WBC/WBA superlightweight title bout in Las Vegas. The Argentinian went down in the 11th round but finished the brawl on his feet. He didn’t undergo surgery to repair the damage.

Two other donnybrooks that Matthysse figured in were an 11th round stoppage of John Molina, Jr. in 2014 and a hard-fought win by majority decision over the Russian slugger Ruslan Provodnikov in 2015. Matthysse was dropped twice before returning the favor in defeating Molina. There were no trips to the canvas when Matthysse outpointed Provodnikov but it was a brutal war of attrition.

Against Teerachai, Matthysse struggled before mowing down the Thai. The Argentinian was behind in one of the three judges scorecards when the end came.