MANILA, Philippines: Manny Pacquiao announced a world title fight against Argentina’s Lucas Matthysse in Malaysia, but doubts quickly emerged over the self-promoted bout on Friday.
Pacquiao, 39, called himself the “underdog” for the June 24 fight against Matthysse, the World Boxing Association welterweight champion from Argentina.“This is going to be a tough fight. Matthysse is also a knockout artist. But I’m excited to fight and be a world champion again,” Pacquiao said in a statement.
“I’m the underdog in this fight but I’m used to it.”“It serves as a big motivation for me to train and fight hard to win the crown,” added the Filipino great.Pacquiao said that unusually, he will be co-promoting the fight along with Golden Boy Promotions, which represents the 35-year-old Matthysse.It signals an apparent break with long-time US promoter Bob Arum — who reportedly warned that the Kuala Lumpur card was not a done deal.