Matthysse camp brushes off weight woes

KUALA LUMPUR – The camp of Lucas Matthysse dismissed speculations that the defending WBA welterweight champion is struggling in shedding weight just in time for Saturday’s official weigh-in for the showdown with Manny Pacquiao.

After days of training in seclusion since he arrived here last week, Matthysse finally opened the doors of the makeshift gym at Le Meridien to entertain the media. He had been working out behind closed doors since he touched down last Thursday, and the only source of quotes from him came from dispatches by his handlers at Golden Boy Promotions.

This has fueled speculations that the 35-year-old Argentinean is still packing excess poundage just four days away from his showdown with Pacquiao at the Axiata Arena.

On Wednesday, Matthysse and his trainer Joel Diaz faced the press to assure everyone that weight is not an issue.

“Right now he's 149 (pounds), so he's only a couple of pounds over,” said Diaz, confident that his ward will meet the welterweight limit of 147 pounds.

“He's been like that for the last couple of weeks,” added Diaz.

Matthysse’s camp earlier bared that the champion had been “eating very healthy” since his arrival here, enjoying a diet of fish, chicken, spaghetti, vegetables and fruits.

Matthysse himself said he is done with all the hard work back in Indio, California where he trained for weeks.

“Now I'm maintaining, just basically tuning up,” he told the press through Diaz, who acted as his translator throughout the session.

“I’ve had a great preparation. I’m here with my belt and I’m gonna take it back home,” added Matthysse.

Pressed for comment on Matthysse’s weight, Pacquiao’s trainer Buboy Fernandez said the bigger issue for Matthysse would be coming in too heavy and too slow on fight day after rehydrating.

“Baka hindi ma-control yung pagpalaki the day of the fight. Pag nagpalaki siya, mabigat sa kanya yun (He might not control adding on weight. He might be too heavy for his own good),” said Fernandez.

Video from Golden Boy Promotions