Dela Hoya: Pacquiao-Matthysse going full steam
Boxing legend and now top promoter Oscar Dela Hoya has backed up Manny Pacquiao’s earlier assurance that the Filipino icon’s fight with Lucas Matthysse will push through as scheduled.
Dela Hoya said the PacquiaoMatthysse title bout in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 15 is a go, despite previous reports claiming the fight faces possible cancellation.
“I feel very, very confident the fight is going to happen, let’s put it that way,” Dela Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions is co-promoting the event with Pacquiao’s MP Promotions, told veteran boxing scribe Steve Kim of boxingscene.com.
Dela Hoya issued the comments amid claims by Top Rank Inc. chief and longtime Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum that the fight is in serious jeopardy due to lack of funds.
Arum even went as far as saying he’s ready to offer Matthysse a crack at Top Rank star Terence Crawford in case the Argentine’s WBA welterweight title defense against Pacquiao gets cancelled.
“I read comments on Bob Arum talking about Lucas Matthysse. Look, we have a fight with Pacquiao coming up within three weeks. He’s looking strong, he’s looking great, looking forward to it and [the] fight is full steam ahead,” added Dela Hoya, who fought Pacquiao in 2008 but lost lopsidedly.
Pacquiao’s camp has already cleared things up when they said everything is in order, and now Dela Hoya is on the same page.
The multiple-division champ even said he’s ecstatic to make the trip to Kuala Lumpur.
“I might be there for about 10 days. I want to go out there and help Manny promote and do my rounds in Malaysia. I have my plane tickets already. So we’re set to go, we have a fight,” said De La Hoya.