I’m going home with my belt, Matthysse warns Pacquiao

KUALA LUMPUR: World welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse saluted Manny Pacquiao on Thursday but vowed to beat the Filipino boxing legend when they square off on Sunday.

“He is a great champion but he still hasn’t faced ‘The Machine’,” Argentina’s Matthysse told reporters at a packed press conference in Kuala Lumpur ahead of their WBA title clash.

“If he decides to retire after I beat him then that is his decision, I am here to defend my title.”Veteran Pacquiao, who is chasing a 60th win of his long career, will turn 40 in December and has not fought since losing his WBO welterweight belt to Australia’s Jeff Horn in Brisbane a year ago.

Knock-out specialist Matthysse has finished 36 of his 39 wins inside the distance and won the vacant WBA belt after an eighth-round stoppage of Thailand’s Teerachai Sithmorseng in January.

His action-packed style, said Pacquiao, was one of the reasons the fight attracted him. “When I saw his fight against Teerachai it was a good fight,” said the Filipino, who has won world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions in more than 20 years as a professional fighter.

“I believe we can create good action in the ring so the fans will be happy.”Pacquiao was thrown out of kilter by Horn’s rough-house tactics a year ago and the Filipino’s conditioning coach, Justin Fortune, said they had prepared for similar from the aggressive Argentine.

“This guy Matthysse is a lot better than Jeff Horn, he punches a lot harder,” Australian Fortune told AFP.Matthysse’s last defeat came against Ukrainian Viktor Postol for a WBC super lightweight world title fight in October 2015.

Now in the twilight of a 23-year professional career, Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs) has not stopped an opponent for nine years as he juggles his career with being an elected senator.