by Nick Giongco
Manny Pacquiao's crack at Lucas Matthysse's World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight crown has been moved to July 8.
Kuala Lumpur will remain as the venue of the scheduled 12-rounder, according to Pacquiao, citing the Muslim festival of Ramadan (May 16 to June 14) as a reason for scrapping the June 24 original date.
With the two-week postponement, the planned April 4 kickoff press conference will now take place April 11.
Matthysse and his promoter, Oscar DeLa Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, are arriving to drumbeat the event.
By the time Pacquiao attempts to win Matthysse's WBA 147-lb title, he would be inactive for over a year since his last outing took place on July 2, 2017, in Brisbane, Australia.