Pacquiao should be ‘100 percent’ to beat Matthysse, says Peñalosa

The iconic Petronas Twin Towers in downtown Kuala Lumpur serve as a backdrop to Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and WBA welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse of Argentina as they pose to promote their bout on July 15 at the Axiata Arena in the Malaysian capital. MP Promotions Media

MANILA — Retired two-division champion Gerry Peñalosa is convinced that WBA welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse could either be a tough or an easy opponent for Manny Pacquiao when they square off inside the ring on July 15 at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The upcoming title showdown between the two will mark Pacquiao's first bout since he lost his WBO world welterweight title to Jeff Horn last year.

Peñalosa said Matthysse is tailor-made for Pacquiao, but the Filipino boxing icon has to solely focus on training if he wants to win the upcoming contest.

"Assuming Manny Pacquiao trained hard going into the bout, it would be an easy fight. That is if he's in a 100 percent shape, if he's not, he can be in trouble. Matthysse is capable of giving him a hard fight. I can see Manny toying with Matthysse in the early rounds, the question is after six rounds, can he sustain the tempo for twelve rounds?" said Peñalosa.

"Matthysse has power but slow while Manny is fast. Hopefully Pacquiao will focus on training camp for this fight. He really works hard in training it's just that sometimes there are commitments in the Senate that he cannot avoid. You can expect Matthysse to go toe-to-toe, he doesn't know any other style, all he knows is to come forward. All he does is attack."

Pacquiao during his prime was once known as unstoppable force inside the ring who would stop at nothing until his foe is down and out on the canvas.

He last scored a stoppage in 2009, and at 39 years old and on the twilight of his legendary career, Pacquiao has the chance to prove he's still capable of finishing an opponent in his upcoming fight, said Peñalosa.

"This is the time for Pacquiao to prove the critics wrong, and he can prove them wrong should he come prepared for the fight. Matthysse is made to order for Pacquiao. There's not much difference in age, but Matthysse has been in really tough fights where he got beat up," Peñalosa quipped.

"Manny is on the same page, but he has the edge on championship experience after all the elite fighters he had fought. At the end of the day, the fighter with the better conditioning will emerge victorious," he said. —ALG, GMA News