Pacquiao slower, more hittable than before – Matthysse

MANILA, Philippines – For WBA welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse, Manny Pacquiao’s best days are long gone, and now is the perfect time to take the Filipino icon out.

Matthysse, who will put his title on the line against Pacquiao on July 15 in Kuala Lumpur, said Pacquiao’s style is tailor-made for him. Sweetening the pot for the Argentine is the notion that Pacquiao is already on the decline.

"I really like his style. We have the same height, he is a fighter who comes forward and who likes to attack like me, so that is going to be good for my way of boxing,” the pride of Chubut, Argentina said in boxingscene.com report.

Matthysse likewise draws confidence from the fact that the 39-year-old Pacquiao is not the same fighter he once was.

“I have already faced left-handed fighters and it did not create any problems for me. In addition, Pacquiao has had a lot of hard fights, and in the last few it was evident that he gets hit more often and that he does not have the same speed and explosiveness as before,” added Matthysse, who started heavy training last week in Coachella, California.

Indeed, signs of decline have been evident in Pacquiao’s past fights. The southpaw from General Santos City has always been a sucker for the right hand, and the vaunted hand speed and footwork that enabled him to blitz through opponents have undergone a significant downgrade.

Against Jeff Horn in Brisbane, Australia last year, Pacquiao often found himself pinned against the ropes by the bigger Horn, whose rough style turned out to be effective. Had that fight been held some five years ago, it would have been a different story.

But even though Pacquiao is already past his prime, Matthysse believes his upcoming opponent won’t be easy to defeat.

“Anyway, he's still a boxing legend and that's a danger,” he said.