His legacy may be secured. But the finishing touches to a masterful boxing career for Manny Pacquiao depends largely on how his fight against Lucas Matthysse on July 15 in Malaysia would turn out.
The undeniable truth is upon the former eight-division champion.
Less than two days after the whirlwind two-city press tour that brought him and the Argentine world welterweight king to Manila and Kuala Kumpur, Pacquiao opened up about what?s down the road after the Matthysse fight.
?My future will be decided on this fight,? Pacquiao told the Bulletin in his palatial Forbes Park home yesterday afternoon.
Pacquiao has plans of fighting onwards but that would largely depend on his performance against the heavy-handed 35-year-old Matthysse.
Nearing 40, Pacquiao admits there is something different about the Matthysse fight that tells him he will snap a decade-long knockout dry spell.
And Matthysse?s willingness to leave himself open is not the sole reason.
After getting within breathing distance of Matthysse several times in the last few days, Pacquiao believes he won?t be at a disadvantage size-wise, something he had been subjected to the last ten years.
?He?s not big,? said Pacquiao, raising his right hand up to the top of his head to prove his point.
?Unlike before, I was up against big and natural welterweights. Matthysse? He?s just my size,? said Pacquiao, who will be attempting to win the World Boxing Association 147-lb crown in a scheduled 12-rounder at the Axiata Arena.
?I have to win big?score a knockout to show everyone that I still have it,? he said.
?This fight will determine whether I still have a future (in boxing),? Pacquiao said.
