Matthysse not just a slugger

WBA welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse of Argentina dropped a hint of what he has in store for challenger Manny Pacquiao when they battle at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on July 15. During a recent soon-to-air TV taping of a face-to-face interview, Matthysse said he’ll surprise Pacquiao by mixing his mode of attack.

Matthysse, 35, is known as a heavy-handed knockout artist with 36 stoppages in 39 wins so he’s expected to close in on Pacquiao and slug it out. But the Argentine said he can also box from a distance if that’s what it takes to throw off Pacquiao’s rhythm.

Against rugged Ruslan Provodnikov in New York in 2015, Matthysse deviated from his usual come-forward style to tame the Siberian Rocky with a stick-and-run routine. Matthysse said Provodnikov came prepared for war so he did something tactically different to control the pace of the fight. “My strategy was to box and keep moving,” he said. That’s exactly what he did.

“(Matthysse) stuck to the gameplan by moving laterally,” wrote Jack Hirsch in Boxing News. “He was able to hit Provodnikov at will with jabs, hooks and uppercuts. Matthysse would exchange punches but rarely for a prolonged period of time.” The downside was in the late rounds, Matthysse ran out of steam. Before the start of the 11th round, Provodnikov’s Filipino trainer Marvin Somodio said Matthysse was “going downhill and losing energy.” Provodnikov buckled Matthysse’s legs in the next round but couldn’t reverse the tide as the Argentinian held on to win by a majority decision. After the fight, Provodnikov called Matthysse “the hardest puncher I ever fought.”   

In May last year, Matthysse came back from a 19-month layoff to stop Emanuel Taylor in the fifth round in Las Vegas. This time, Matthysse fought like a wild bull from the Pampas. He dropped Taylor with a single right hand in the first round and finished him off with a flurry in the fifth. Matthysse was all over Taylor from the start, pushing him against the ropes and blasting away with both fists. 

Matthysse said he’ll confuse Pacquiao by fighting like he did against Provodnikov and against Taylor, two different styles to keep the Filipino guessing. “I’ll use both styles,” said Matthysse through interpreter Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez. “I showed I can box when I fought Provodnikov and everyone knows I can punch. I’ll be at my best to beat someone as great as Pacquiao.”

Pacquiao has started training for Matthysse in General Santos City with Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri. He said he wants to give Fernandez a chance to be head coach for once and won’t be tapping Freddie Roach’s services. “Freddie is like family to me,” said Pacquiao. “He won’t be in my corner this time but maybe, for my next fight, I’ll ask him back. For Matthysse, I’m training with Buboy. I want him to experience what it’s like to be head coach even for just one fight.”