Philippines, 20 Mar 2026
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


PACQUIAO-MATTHYSSE FIGHT ANALYSIS


PhilBoxing.com




This upcoming Saturday future boxing hall of famer and living legend Manny ?Pac Man? Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38KOs) makes his return to boxing after a one year layoff to fight dangerous ?Regular? WBA welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (39-4, 36KOs) of Argentina.

Pacquiao lost his WBO welterweight title to some guy called ?Jeff Horn? from Australia in controversial decision last July in 2017. Pacquiao?s last true loss was in 2015 to fellow future boxing hall of famer Floyd Mayweather Jr. At age 39 Pacquiao may not be the fighter he once was, but he remarkably is still fighting on an elite level.

Some believe he can no longer compete with the best welterweights in the world today and have called on him to retire. Pacquiao has a point to prove and apparently wants to retire on his own terms.

Matthysse is an exciting fighter with the kind of knock out power that can change a fight in the blink of an eye, like when he impressively destroyed former two division champion Lamont Peterson in 3 rounds back in 2013.

He has been in some exciting fights against former world champions like Zab Judah, Danny Garcia, and Victor Postol only to come up short by losing. In his last fight for the vacant ?Regular? WBA welterweight title, apparently trailing on all three Judge?s scorecards, he came from behind to knockout Thailand?s Tewa Karim in the 8th round to win his first world title in his second attempt fulfilling his potential of becoming a world champion.

Pacquiao-Matthysse is clearly a ?Cross Roads? fight. The winner of this fight can look forward to big payday fights and/or unification fights with other top welterweights. The loser has to consider retirement. What does Pacquiao have to do to secure victory against Matthysse and vice versa?

The reports are Pacquiao is in excellent shape and training has gone well. Pacquiao has looked good in the gym against sparring partners and his speed and timing are still intact.

Against Matthysee, Pacquiao has to use his speed to dictate the pace of the fight. He must be first in attacking. He must use his jab and throw combinations. He must be in and out using angles and not allow Matthysee to plant his feet to throw his power punches. Pacquiao must disturb Matthysee?s rhythm. He has to use good movement, but also has to at times cautiously fight Matthysse to show that he is not overly concerned about his power. Not only should Pacquiao throw head shots, but he must also throw body shots as Matthysse is susceptible to them. The fighters that beat Matthyssee in the past all outboxed him.

In regards to Mattyhsse, he too will have to try and dictate the pace by being first. He has to attack Pacquiao throwing punches with ?Bad intentions? from the start of the fight.

Matthysse will be very dangerous in the early rounds and is capable of hurting Pacquiao. Matthysse does not have the speed or boxing ability of Pacquiao, but he is the stronger fighter of the two. He will have to pick his spots and time the quicker Pacquiao as he attempt to land his punches against Mattyhysse.

Mattyhsse must make the punches he lands count to hopefully catch Pacquiao or wear him down and eventually stop him in the later rounds. Matthysee will waist his time if he tries to box the more skilled and quicker Pacquiao.

Mattyhysse has a ?puncher?s chance? of defeating Pacquiao by knockout if Pacquiao should make a mistake in the same fashion when he fought Juan Manuel Marquez back in 2012. This writer envisions and has Pacquiao defeating Matthysse via unanimous 12 round decisions.

Contact Writer: RLuvsboxing@aol.com

***Ralph Rimpell is a writer based out of New York and is a Boxing Correspondent for Philboxing.com. Ralph holds an undergraduate degree from City University of New York. He has been a Boxing Writer for over ten years having written for several top boxing websites on the World Wide Web. Before becoming a writer, Ralph's passion was for professional wrestling until he realized professional wrestling was entertainment and not a real sport. It was at that time the 1984 US Olympic team made up of future stars such as Evander Holyfield, Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, etc. entered the professional ranks and signed with promotional outfit Main Events.It was also at that time a young exciting Heavyweight originally hailing from Brooklyn named Mike Tyson also turned professional and became the face of boxing. Young boxing fan Ralph just couldn't get enough of boxing as a large part of it was being broadcast on "free TV". As time went on, Ralph felt boxing writers were not being forthcoming with their boxing coverage, opinion pieces, interviews, etc. So Ralph decided to write an article and submitted it to a Boxing website thinking it would be deleted and ignored by the Editor. To Ralph's surprise his article was posted on their website and the readers embraced it. The rest is history.

"I thank God for the internet because it has created opportunities for writers like myself who likely would not have been given an opportunity to write for print publications.I hope someday soon to expand my role in Boxing on different levels." -- Ralph Rimpell



Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ralph Rimpell.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • LIDDARD-DENNY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES IN FULL: EVERYTHING THAT WAS SAID AHEAD OF SATURDAY'S COPPER BOX FIGHT NIGHT
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Round 12 with Mauricio Sulaiman: The WBC Continues the Fight for the Good of the Sport
    By Mauricio Sulaimán, , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • AMMO: ADAMES FIGHT WILL BE EXPLOSIVE
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Carlos De Leon Training Camp Notes
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • The Highly Anticipated  Box Fan Expo Invitational 2026 Returns with A  USA Boxing Amateur Show
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Placibe, Sales tops Sprint Challenge
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Lester Martinez vs. Immanuwel Aleem Los Angeles Media Day Quotes
    , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • MAPUA, PSKAI R-10 to play in Best of Best
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • IIEE Metro East dominates the 4th D’ Engineers’ Darts Cup 2026
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • LIDDARD: WHY I'M RUNNING MATCHROOM HALF MARATHON AFTER TITLE DEFENCE AGAINST DENNY
    , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • Press Conference Notes: DAZN and Top Rank Sign Multi-Year Rights Deal
    , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • DAZN and Top Rank announce a landmark multi-year media rights deal bringing elite events and a storied archive to DAZN users worldwide
    , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • Sampson Boxing Signs Top Junior Lightweight Contender Charly Suarez to a Promotional Contract
    , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 17 MARCH 2026: Collazo Stops Haro; Fundora KO Ruiz; Barboza Outpoints Sims; Cacace UD Dickens
    By Eric Armit, , Wed, 18 Mar 2026
  • Tapales Near Peak Form Ahead of April 3 Tokyo Showdown with Oguni
    , Wed, 18 Mar 2026
  • MILLER AND PERO CLASH IN HEAVYWEIGHT SHOWDOWN IN LAS VEGAS ON APRIL 25
    , Wed, 18 Mar 2026
  • Middleweight Championship Battle Between (C) Khamzat Chimaev and (#3) Sean Strickland Headlines UFC® 328 at Prudential Center Live on Paramount+
    , Wed, 18 Mar 2026
  • Sampson Lewkowicz & TM Boxing Sign Undefeated Mexican Prospect José Ángel Guerrero to Co-Promotional Deal
    , Wed, 18 Mar 2026
  • 12-Time World Champion & Hall of Famer James Toney Confirmed for Ninth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Cinco De Mayo Weekend, Saturday May 2, in Las Vegas
    , Wed, 18 Mar 2026
  • Five stitches for Donaire’s cut
    By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 17 Mar 2026
  • Roberto Gomez Training Camp Notes
    , Tue, 17 Mar 2026
  • Esneth Domingo Trains at the Wildcard Gym in Los Angeles Ahead of His US Debut
    , Tue, 17 Mar 2026
  • Tatay Digong Birthday Run on March 28
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Tue, 17 Mar 2026
  • 12-0 prospect Marco Romero to headline This Friday in Independence, Missouri
    , Tue, 17 Mar 2026
  • 700 athletes on March 21-22 at UM
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Tue, 17 Mar 2026




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2026 philboxing.com.