A post shared by Lucasmatthysse (@lucasmatthysse29) on Feb 16, 2018 at 6:20am PST

A couple of years ago, Manny Pacquiao would have been a huge favorite against Lucas Matthysse.

But that was years ago, boxing promoter Bob Arum said.

“You know, maybe a couple of years ago, Manny would be a big favorite but now it is a pretty even fight," the Top Rank Inc. executive said in a BoxingScene.com article regarding Pacquiao’s July 14 fight against the world welterweight champion from Argentina.

Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions announced on social media that they have already finalized the deal for a fight that will take place in Kuala, Lumpur.

• READ: Pacquiao-Matthysse bout set for July in Malaysia

Although Top Rank no longer has a live contract with Pacquiao, it will distribute the fight in the US via ESPN, possibly as a pay-per-view event.

The Matthysse fight will be Pacquiao’s first since losing a controversial decision to Jeff Horn last July.

“(Matthysse will give him) a very good run for his money and it’s a tough fight for Manny, but hopefully he will be successful,” Arum said.

"I think he (Pacquiao) has a very good chance, very good chance, but he got to train very hard.”

For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.