MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao usually refuses to publicly declare he wants to knock out an opponent. That is no longer the case.
Rejuvenated by his knockout victory over Lucas Matthysse the last time he fought, Pacquiao said he plans to do the same when he defends the WBA welterweight championship against American Adrien Broner on January 19 in Las Vegas (January 20 Manila time).
“I am not making a prediction but my goal is to knock out Broner,” Pacquiao said in a recent press dispatch.
Prior to stopping Matthysse in the seventh round of their fight in July last year, Pacquiao had never scored a knockout in almost a decade.
He now eyes to keep the momentum going with another impressive win over the brash Broner, who has never been stopped in 38 fights.
“I am looking for a knockout against Broner. I have to maximize the opportunity. I forgot how much fun winning a fight by knockout was until I stopped Lucas Matthysse last summer to win the WBA welterweight title,” Pacquiao added.
Pacquiao is fine-tuning his game at Freddie Roach’s famous Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles. He has spent the holidays in the US, a good few weeks before his showdown with Broner at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The fighting senator said knocking out Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur last July 15 was a much-needed shot in the arm for his career, which is nearing the end.
“It felt great to win that way and the fans loved it too, so why not try for it again?” said Pacquiao, whose last stoppage win prior to Matthysse was in 2009, when he scored a TKO victory over Miguel Cotto.
Pacquiao now has a total of 39 knockouts in 60 wins.
It will be his goal to seize knockout No. 40 against Broner.
“I have nothing personal against Adrien Broner. This fight is strictly business. He is fun. He makes me laugh. He knows how to sell himself and to sell a fight,” said Pacquiao.