MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao will be better off boxing against Lucas Matthysse than engaging the WBA welterweight champion in a brawl.
According to former light middleweight champion Ronald “Winky” Wright, going toe-to-toe with a heavy puncher like Matthysse would be a risky proposition for Pacquiao.
“Anybody who has a good punch has a chance, that’s why they call it a puncher’s chance,” Wright, who has recently been inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame, said in an interview with On The Ropes Boxing.
Wright was obviously referring to Matthysse’s high knockout ratio, which is perhaps the Argentine’s most prominent asset heading into the July 15 title bout in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Out of Matthysse’s 39 wins, 36 did not go the distance. And the defending champion’s camp is confident that they can pull off knockout number 37 against Pacquiao.
Pacquiao’s best bet, Wright continued, would be to box his way and avoid a slugfest.
“If Pacquiao still has the good legs and can move in and out like he does, it’s going to be hard for anybody to beat him,” he explained.
Matthysse’s trainer Joel Diaz earlier said they will try to follow the blueprint of Juan Manuel Marquez, who was able to knock Pacquiao out in their fourth and last fight in 2012.
In that fateful night, Pacquiao aggressively went for a knockout against Marquez and almost came close to doing it — until he ran into a perfect counter by his Mexican rival.
Wright, for his part, said Pacquiao can suffer the same fate against Matthysse.
“If he stays there and just tries to catch Matthysse with a big punch, Matthysse has a good punch and could end it,” Wright added.
Wright, who retired in 2012 with a record of 51-6-1 (with 25 KOs), was known for his fights with fellow legends Shane Mosley, Felix Trinidad and Bernard Hopkins. He was noted for his tortoise-like defense and clinical punching.