When Manny Pacquiao lost his WBO welterweight title in controversial fashion to Jeff Horn in July 2017, many thought we had seen the best of Pacquiao, but he returned a year later and stopped Lucas Matthysse in seven rounds. Now, he continues stake his claim as one of the best at 147 when he battles Adrien Broner on Saturday in Las Vegas(Showtime PPV).
“People writing me off after the Jeff Horn fight was good for me. I’m not mad at anyone who thought that,” Pacquiao said on Wednesday. “It just became a challenge and a test to me of whether or not I could still show my best.”
Pacquiao would show his best against Matthysse this summer in a performance that reminded Pacquiao of some of his great performances of the past.
“The knockout in my last fight felt good. It felt like my younger days against Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, and others,” Pacquiao said. “That fight was a big challenge for me to recover from the fight against Jeff Horn. People said that my career was done. But I never got discouraged, I just worked hard and made the knockout against Lucas Matthysse happen.”
The hope for Pacquiao is he will stop Broner on Saturday night, and to make that happen, he plans on putting the pressure on the Cincinnati native.
“I don’t need to dislike my opponent to want a knockout. I’m just doing my job in the ring. If the knockout comes, it comes,” Pacquiao said. “We’re hoping to have that opportunity Saturday. I have to pressure him to make him open up. Wherever he goes, I’ll be there.”