Pacquiao needs to move down to lightweight for Lomachenko fight

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Pacquiao needs to move down to lightweight for Lomachenko fight

ABS-CBN News

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If Manny Pacquiao is serious about wanting to fight Ukraine's Vasyl Lomachenko, then he will have to do so at a much lower weight class.

A Pacquiao-Lomachenko bout became a possibility after the "Pacman" demolished Argentina's Lucas Matthysse last Sunday to win a version of the WBA welterweight belt.

It was Pacquiao's most explosive performance in years, knocking down Matthysse thrice en route to a seventh round stoppage.

Top Rank chief executive Bob Arum has previously mentioned that Lomachenko is an option for Pacquiao, but the Ukrainian fighter's manager made it clear that the bout – if it ever happens – will only happen on their terms.

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"We have no interest (in moving up in weight)," Lomachenko's manager, Egis Klimas, said in an interview with Yahoo! Sports.

Instead, Pacquiao will have to move all the way back down to lightweight – the 135-pound division – if he wants to fight Lomachenko.

"If Pacquiao can make 135, to come in and compete for [Lomachenko's] WBA title, Vasyl is the champion in that weight class, it’s a possibility," said Klimas.

"There will be no catchweight," Klimas also stressed. "If he wants to challenge, he needs to come down. We are not looking to go to 140 pounds."

"If Manny Pacquiao wants to fight Lomachenko, he can make 135 pounds."

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Pacquiao has not fought at 135-pounds since 2008, but according to his conditioning trainer, the Filipino boxing icon should have no trouble making the weight even at this age.

"He could make 135 pounds inside of four weeks," Justine Fortune said in an interview with AFP. "His metabolism is ridiculous. I don't know what it is. He's a freak."

Lomachenko, 30, has won titles at featherweight, junior lightweight, and lightweight. He owns the WBA and the RING lightweight belts, following a stoppage of Jorge Linares last May. He also owns wins over Nicholas Walters and Guillermo Rigondeaux.

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

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