MANILA – It seemed that Manny Pacquiao sounded surprised that he knocked Lucas Matthysse out.
“Matthysse was a very tough opponent and I managed to knock him down,” said the eight-division world champion.
It was as if the Filipino boxing icon and senator underestimated how much punching power he has – even at 39 years old.
Pacquiao certainly turned back the clock when he beat the Argentine fighter via technical knockout in Round 7 and claimed the WBA welterweight title on Sunday at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The tenacious southpaw scored knockdowns in the third and fifth rounds before unloading a finishing blow – a left uppercut – in the seventh.
It was Pacquiao’s first knockout victory since clobbering Miguel Cotto in 2009 – and a redemptive feat after his controversial unanimous-decision loss to Australian Jeff Horn last year.
His apparent disbelief was mixed with relief after the bout as he factored in his readiness. “I guess that’s (knockout) a bonus for being focused and patient in the fight and working hard in training camp,” said Pacquiao.
Matthysse struggled to land shots on the much faster Pacquiao, who displayed his rejuvenated skills as he unloaded volume punches against the Argentine’s body.
Pacquiao kept the 1-2 punches on Matthysse’s body coming in the second round. Matthysse had his best shot in the match when he tagged Pacquiao with a straight.
In the third round Pacquiao pestered Matthysse’s defense with shots to the head and body. The Filipino made a sneaky left uppercut that knocked Matthysse down. Still, the latter survived.
Matthysse became aggressive in the fourth round through volume punches but none of them hurt Pacquiao.
Clean and fast combinations from Pacquiao were well aimed and landing on Matthysse’s body in Round 5. Just before the round ended, Pacquiao landed a straight that dropped Matthysse.
It was in Round 6 when Pacquiao had the best chance to take down Matthysse – groggy with hits on the head and body – but the latter circled the former to survive the round.
Pacquiao landed harder and cleaner shots at the onset of Round 7. Matthysse hung around with limited attacks until the Filipino pug finished him off with a left uppercut.
“This is part of boxing. You win some, you lose some,” said Matthysse, 35. “Manny Pacquiao is a great legend and I lost to a great fighter. I will take some time off from this.”
Pacquiao improved to a 60-7-2 win-loss-draw record including 39 knockout victories while Matthysse’s slate dropped to 39-5-0 with 36 stoppage wins./PN
