El Maachi: Pacquiao is the only welterweight who can beat me
Hackney fighter believes he can take on the world’s best
Prizefighter champion Yassine El Maachi believes Manny Pacquiao is the only welterweight in the world who could beat him.
The 31-year-old Dalston fighter captured the coveted crown and the �32,000 winners cheque at a sold out York Hall on Tuesday night after beating former world champion Junior Witter in the final by majority decision.
It was the biggest success of the Moroccan-born fighter’s career to date and the southpaw believes title success is not too far away.
“To win Prizefighter is a big step for me and now I am looking for titles,” he said.
“I have belief in myself and my trainer and I believe no man at my weight apart from Manny Pacquiao can beat me.”
Short term, El Maachi wishes to focus on domestic honours and although current British champion Lee Purdy said he would be willing to face the winner of Prizefighter if he beats Craig Watson in July, the Hackney man is far from confident he will face him.
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“Of course I would love to fight the winner of Purdy v Watson, but I don’t think Purdy would fight me,” he said.
“We have sparred together in the past and my promoter Steve Goodwin told me a fight had been arranged, but they never got back to me after we had accepted.”
