World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title holder Lucas Matthysse has to spend the next few crucial days adapting to the time difference before fighting Manny Pacquiao on July 15.
Having travelled 1,412 km from Los Angeles to Kuala Lumpur for the bout at the Axiata Arena, the 15-hour time difference was something serious for the Argentinean to work on.
The 35-year-old boxer, who is known as ‘The Machine’ for his aggressive punches in his 39 wins (36 knockouts) against four defeats in his career, however, was confident of punching out the Filipino legend, which might end the latter’s boxing career.
"Pacquiao and I had great preparations and are ready for the big fight. It is going to be a great fight for the fans to witness," he told a press conference upon his arrival in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
Meanwhile, his trainer, Joel Diaz, said the South American had to adapt to the time difference as soon as possible, with less than 10 days left for the bout dubbed as ‘The Fight of Champions’.
"As the fight is scheduled in the morning, we will train for the fight in the morning and focus on physical conditioning in the afternoon. Now, I am trying to programme him to the fighting time. His preparation is very important,” he said.
Matthysse, who claimed the vacant welterweight title in January after defeating Thailand’s Tewa Kiram, would be making his first title defence against the 39-year-old ‘Pacman’, who is the only eight-division champion with a record of 59 wins (38 knockouts), seven losses and two draws.
Bernama
Fri Jul 06 2018
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