IT was pleasantly unexpected, to say the least. I predicted Manny Pacquiao to prevail but I thought that at least Lucas Martin Matthysse would put on a better show. Instead we got a stinker of a fight, but I guess a win is a win- and at this stage of Manny’s career, we’ll take it.
MISMATCH. The anatomy of this mismatch is a no-brainer. Manny isn’t the fighter he once was, but he fought the way he always does- fast, aggressive and accurate.
In contrast, Matthysse showed up shockingly inept--clearly more shot at age 35 than Pacquiao is at 39.
Matthysse wasn’t known for his speed and nobody will ever mistake him for a Vasyl Lomachenko but he was at least known for his aggression and feral approach. None of these qualities were present last Sunday, and Manny dominated him throughout seven rounds, knocking him down thrice.
This is fair warning to all fighters currently in the top 10--the Pacman still has enough gas in the tank and if you show up at 50 percent strength, he’s chomping you down like a power pellet.
NEXT. While this was indeed an impressive victory, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and start bruiting about Manny regaining his pound-for-pound form.
While we cannot deny that Manny is indeed a physical marvel in the mold of a Bernard Hopkins and rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. who fought at the elite level even in their 40s, Manny’s dominance in that fight was not so much about what he did but rather what “La Maquina” was unable to do.
Two fights ago, he struggled with one Jeff Horn, who- while not deserving that victory-succeeded in bullying and roughing up Pacquiao around the ring.
The styles makes fights aphorism always rings true in fights and sometimes a fighter can bring out his opponent’s best and make him look stellar. In the same manner, a particular style can also make another fighter look rather pedestrian.
A fighter is only as good as his last fight and taking the Horn and Matthysse fights together we get divergent images of how good Manny really is at this stage of his career.
VERBATIM.”Manny knows best. He is not the young Manny of years past but we knew that he was testing himself mentally and psychologically more than the physical. “-Justin Fortune , conditioning coach on Philboxing.com.
LAST ROUND.It’s on a dear friend, Liezel Gedorio of the OCC-MTCC Mandaue City who recently celebrated her birthday. Cheers!