Muhammad Ali, formerly known as Cassius Clay, was one of the greatest boxers of all time. But Ali was also much more than just a boxer as he served as a Civil Rights Activist in the 1960s.
Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky and by the time he was 18 years old he was already professionally fighting. He first garnered worldwide attention during the 1960 Olympic Games when he won the gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the age of 18. At the age of 22 he upset former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston for the title of best heavyweight in the world. Ali then went on to defeat Floyd Patterson along with another string of helpless boxers before he was banned from boxing for three years for refusing to serve in the United States military during the Vietnam War (which was due to his battle with dyslexia).
Upon his return Ali regained the world heavyweight title by defeating George Foreman in the widely remembered Rumble In The Junglein which almost no one gave him a chance at winning.
The Return Of Pacquaio Manny Pac-Man Pacquaio is making a return after a year of being away from the ring. His last fight Vs Jeff Horn was a very controversial bout. Many critiques believed the fight should have led Pacquaio into retiring. Some believe Pacquaio was cheated out of his fight Vs Horn. Others believe […]
The Return Of Pacquaio
(7/2/2017), Manny Pacquiao Vs Jeff Horn, in which would be Pacquiao’s last fight in the ring before contemplating retirement for a year.
Manny Pac-Man Pacquiao is making a return after a year of being away from the ring. His last fight Vs Jeff Horn was a very controversial bout. Many critiques believed the fight should have led Pacquiao into retiring. Some believe Pacquiao was cheated out of his fight Vs Horn. Others believe their should be a Manny Pacquiao Vs Jeff Horn 2. However, the facts are on Saturday July 14th, 2018, Manny Pac-Man Pacquiao will be returning to the ring against Lucas Matthysse. The fight will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Axiata Arena. The fight is still in the works of being broadcasted on ESPN.
What to know about the fighters
Lucas Matthysse
(1-27-2018), Lucas Matthysse V. Tewam Kiram at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Lucas won the (regular) WBA Welterweight title by KO in the 8th round. Matthysse will be defending his title Vs. Manny Pacquaio on 7/14/2018.
Lucas Matthysse comes into this fight off of two wins by KO and TKO. In his two last fights he attained the WBO welterwight title, WBO Inter-Continental and WBO international Welterweight titles as well. Matthysse is a veteran fighter who first debuted on June 4th, 2004. Matthysse is currently 44-4-1 with 36 of his wins coming by knockout. This big fight Versus Manny Pacquiao will not be his first time stepping on a huge platform. Matthysse has fought in 19 different title bouts in which he only lost 3 fights during these bouts. This fight will not be a breeze for Manny Pacquaio as Lucas Matthysse has been waiting for this opportunity for five years now.
Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pac-Man Pacquaio in what would be his last fight Versus Jeff Horn. Pacquaio Lost by scores of 117-111, 115-113, and 115-113. This fight was a very controversial one and was re-scored again still in favor of Jeff Horn.
Manny Pacquiao is coming off of a dreadful performance, or was it? Many critiques claim the veteran fighter was very sluggish in his bout against Jeff Horn. However, Manny Pacquiao landed double the amount of punches Horn did and at a higher percentage. This fight put Manny Pacquiao in a fighting drought because of how poorly scored the bout was. ESPN Commentator T.J. Quinn stated on twitter “A 117–111 card? Ridiculous. This is a hometown hit job. Manny looked old, but mostly in control”. Pacquiao was not the aggressor but certainly was the more experienced in this fight. Pacquiao landed 182 out of 573 punches, while Horn landed 92 out of 625 punches. The bout was fought in Australia, in which is Jeff Horn’s hometown. Ranked #4 by Boxing Rec as the best pound for pound fighter in history, Manny Pacquiao is ready to add to his already impressive legacy.
MannyPacquiao has a huge chip on his shoulder when he comes into this fight. Having been cheated in what many believe to be 3 fights in his career, Pacquiao is ready to show up and dominate his opponent. Pacquiao will definitely have an advantage when it comes to landing more punches as well as throw more than Lucas Matthysse. As seen in many of his fights, win or lost, Pacquiao has always found a way to dominate his opponent with punches thrown and landed. However, as seen with his last fight Vs. Jeff Horn, Landing punches and throwing many does not matter at the end of the bout. Pacquiao will need to dominate early and throughout. If Pacquiao is able to last Matthysse’s dominate punches, than I feel he will have a huge change of winning. Disadvantages for the Pac-man however are his confidence. Does he have the confidence he once had coming into this fight? Out of his 4 last fights, Pacquiao has been defeated twice. His age is another big factor in this bout. Pacquiao will come into this bout 4 years older than Matthysse. Another factor will be PAC-man’s reach and height compared to Lucas Matthysse. Pacquiao will have a two-inch disadvantage in reach and a one-inch disadvantage in height. If Pacquiao can come out aggressive he will have a very good chance of competing and or beating Lucas Matthysse.
Lucas Matthysse will be coming into his bout off of two straight quality wins. He will be defending his Regular Welterweight title in which he won by defeating his last opponent Tewa Kiram. Matthysse, much like Pacquiao, is a very experience fighter, fighting in over 15+ Title bouts. Lucas is very familiar to the big stage and will not shy from the challenge. Matthysse will have a two-inch reach advantage as well as a one-inch height advantage. Another advantage for Matthysse is how powerful his punches are. In 36 of his 39 wins, he won by knockout. If Matthysse can keep the pressure on Pacquiao, he will have a very good chance of walking away victorious. Disadvantages for Matthysse is the experience Pacquiao will be bringing into the ring. Pacquiao has fought in 25 more fights than Matthysse and has earned 20 more wins. Matthysse also has proved to be a very powerful puncher, but can his speed keep up with Pacquiao’s? These will be key components that Matthysse will need to conquer if he wants to beat Pacquiao.
