Manila Bulletin

Pacquiao-Matthysse fight moved up 14 days to July 8

- — NICK GIONGCO – AP

Manny Pacquiao told the Bulletin late Sunday night that his shot at the World Boxing Associatio­n (WBA) welterweig­ht title of Lucas Matthysse will now take place on July 8 from June 24.

The Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur remains the city of choice.

“We are giving way to Ramadan,” said Pacquiao, adding that the Muslim Festival will take place from May 16 to June 14.

By the time Pacquiao meets Matthysse on that date, he would have been inactive for over a year as his last fight took place on July 2 against Jeff Horn.

Pacquiao added that instead of April 4, the kickoff press conference with Matthysse, with promoter Oscar De la Hoya in tow in Manila, will now be staged on April 11.

The Final Four will feature three teams that need no introducti­on and one from out of nowhere.

Though this year’s NCAA Tournament produced the biggest upset in the history of the event along with a seemingly endless string of unexpected results, the season’s last weekend will look a lot like it has over the last handful of years.

In one of Saturday’s semifinals, it’s a barnburner of a matchup between top-seeded programs with rich histories: Villanova vs. Kansas.

In the other, it’s an upstart vs. another school that knows this road: No. 11 Loyola-Chicago vs. No. 3 Michigan.

 ??  ?? San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo, right, blocks a shot by Magnolia’s Ian Sangalang during Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. SMB won 90-74 to level at 1-1 the bestof-7 series with Game 3 on April 1, Easter...
San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo, right, blocks a shot by Magnolia’s Ian Sangalang during Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. SMB won 90-74 to level at 1-1 the bestof-7 series with Game 3 on April 1, Easter...

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