KUALA LUMPUR: The newly crowned World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight champion, Manny Pacquiao is donating his training camp equipment used for his ‘Fight of the Champions’ to the government of Malaysia.
The 39-year-old Senator of the Philippines in his post-fight press conference after knocking out Argentinian Lucas Matthysse at the Axiata Arena said, the reason behind the good gesture is to promote and support growth of boxing in Malaysia.
“I have talked to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the equipment we used in Kuala Lumpur for this training, we will donate it. We have also talked about promoting boxing in Malaysia. We are going to start it,” he said when asked if he would start an academy here.
“I love this place, thank you so much for the beautiful and wonderful facility in KL. I hope it is not the last fight under MP Promotions here, as this is one of the big fights in Asia, which was shown in more than 200 countries. We are looking forward for more events here,” he said.
Pacquiao said, Malaysia was chosen to be the venue because he wanted to promote professional boxing in Asia, as the sport was still lagging behind compared to the United States and Latin America.
Nicknamed as ‘The Pacman’, he won his 12th title after wresting the (WBA) welterweight belt from the 35-year-old Argentine with a seventh round technical knockout (TKO) win.
Matthysse, who is known as ‘The Machine’ for his aggressive punches, had claimed the vacant welterweight title in January after defeating Thailand’s Tewa Kiram.
Commenting on the win, Pacquiao said Matthysse could probably not take his hard and counter punches and was possibly surprised with the fighting change of style under new coach Buboy Fernandez.
“From the first round I had in mind already that I could win the fight because our strategy was to beat him by taking time and not to rush. He might also be surprised that I was coming in from the side, not running around.
“To be a champion, one needs to work hard, and have dedication and passion. You have to be dedicated in training and be passionate in boxing to push your limit. I do not feel like 39, I still feel and look like 27,” he said.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad; the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte; Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, were among the prominent figures at the fight, considered as the biggest boxing event in the country after the 1975 Muhammad Ali-Joe Burger bout at Merdeka Stadium. - Bernama