Ana adds twist to guessing game

MANILA, Philippines - Former WBO/IBA female superbantamweight champion Ana (Hurricane) Julaton suggested the other day Argentine slugger Lucas Matthysse for Manny Pacquiao to consider as his next opponent, possibly on April 9 at a venue still to be determined.

Matthysse is the latest to be named in the guessing game which Pacquiao, who is now vacationing in Europe, will eventually settle with Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. Terence Crawford, Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan, Danny Garcia and Juan Manuel Marquez are among the fighters in the lottery.

Julaton, a Fil-Am from San Francisco, went a step further by calling out Matthysse’s sister Edith Soledad, the reigning WBC/WBA featherweight titlist, to face her in a proposed undercard.

“What’s great is Manny still has a roster of possible opponents to keep him active,” said Julaton who is taking on Russia’s Irina Mazepa in a ONE Championship mixed martial arts flyweight title eliminator at the Mall of Asia Arena on Dec. 11. “Considering Manny took some time out of training because of an injury, I would like to see him fight against Matthysse first in a 10-rounder at 140 or 147 pounds, depending on how Manny feels, then go from there because Khan and Garcia fight at 147 and Crawford at 140. As for Marquez, that matchup doesn’t interest me.”

Julaton said if Pacquiao picks Matthysse, she’ll move heaven and earth to arrange a fight against the Argentine’s sister to spice up the undercard. “If Manny fights Lucas next, they could include myself against Soledad who is the current WBC and WBA 126-pound champion,” she said. “Being in Manny’s undercard next year would be an honor and it would be fun to have both Matthysse siblings fight on the same card, too.”

Matthysse, 33, turned pro in 2004 and raced to a 27-0 record before losing a split decision to Zab Judah. His other losses were to DeVon Alexander and Garcia on points and to Viktor Postol on a 10th round knockout last month. Among his victims were former world champions Ruslan Provodnikov, Lamont Peterson and Humberto Soto. A knockout artist, Matthysse has scored 34 abbreviated wins in a 37-4 record.

Matthysse’s sister Soledad, 35, claimed the WBC/WBA featherweight titles via a 10-round decision over Canada’s Jelena Mrdjenovich in Buenos Aires last August to raise her record to 14-7-1, with 1 KO. Julaton’s ring record is 14-4-1, with 2 KOs. Julaton is engaged in both boxing and mixed martial arts. As a boxer, her most recent outing was a six-round win over Yolanda Segura in Durango last March. Her four losses were all on points to Dominga Oliva, Lisa Brown, Yesica Marcos and Celina Salazar.

As for a possible rematch between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Julaton said it could happen if the fans clamor for the fight. “There has to be interest to support the pay-per-view buys which will drive the sponsors to support it,” she said. “It has to be appealing to the fans. Since Floyd is retired from boxing, there’s only so much he can do to promote the rematch. Most of the promoting will have to come from Manny where he rebuilds from his injury, knock out his next opponent, like Matthysse then have an A-level matchup against undefeated fighters like Garcia and Crawford or knock Khan out. A standout performance, depending on how it’s marketed, should rekindle some interest in the rematch.”

At the moment, Mayweather is retired with a 49-0 record, including 26 KOs. He announced the end of his ring career after beating Andre Berto last September. But it wasn’t the first announcement of his retirement. In May 2007, Mayweather said he was hanging up his gloves after decisioning Oscar de la Hoya. But seven months later, he was back in the ring to halt Ricky Hatton. Then, he said he would retire. In 2009, Mayweather returned to beat Marquez. From his second retirement, Mayweather logged 10 more fights, including the win over Pacquiao last May.

Julaton said a rematch will be good for boxing. “I thought the first match was very tactical and since I understand boxing, I see it differently than how most people do,” she said. “Again, this matchup gained cross-over attention so if fans want to see this again, I think most of the work has to be done by Manny. And if he makes it happen, I think it can give Manny more say in the negotiations with Floyd because Manny would be the reason why people want to see it again.”

Julaton said if and when Pacquiao wins as Senator in next year’s polls, only he will decide to retire from boxing or not or if he retires, to make an exception for a Mayweather rematch. “Only Manny has the answer to that,” she said. “Either way, he has the support of us all.”