Manny Pacquiao turns back the clock! Gets his first knockout in 9 years!
It’s been 23 years since Manny Pacquiao made his professional debut and at 39 years-old, he looked every bit as good as he has before.
This goes without saying he looked like would be possibly entering retirement the fight before against Jeff Horn. Nevertheless, boxing is all about what a fighter has done lately.
Many boxing fans were eager to see what would happen in this fight. Not only because of what transpired against Jeff Horn but, because Pacquiao would be without his longtime trainer Freddie Roach.
Well, one can easily conclude that Pacquiao won every round in route to a seventh round stoppage. He floored Matthysse three times: once in each of the third, fifth and seventh rounds.
The hand speed and footwork was just too much for the 35 year-old champion. Every time Matthysse wanted to mount an offensive attack, Pacquiao beat him to the punch.
Sure, there were times he would catch the 8-time champion coming in, but most of those shots did not have enough leverage on them. Matthysse was too focused on the retaliation from Pacquiao and did not sit down on his punches enough.
Ultimately, it was the upper cut that did the most damage. The first knockdown, the challenger caught Matthysse leaning forward on the inside. This allowed him to step back and shoot the punch right up the middle – flooring the champion.
The second knockdown was a bit of a surprise as the stalking Pacquiao applied pressure behind the jab then unleashed a right hook. The shot seemed like a glancing blow, but it was enough to make the champion take a knee.
The final knockdown happened exactly the way the first one did. By this point, Matthysse had lost six straight rounds and gave up two extra points from knockdowns. The uppercut crumpled him to the ground and referee Kenny Bayless had seen enough.
So What’s Next?
With this win, Pacquiao captures the WBA regular title. There are so many options at welterweight for the new champion to explore.
In the past, current WBO champion Terence Crawford was believed to be a fight on the horizon. There is Errol Spence as the IBF champion, as well as Keith Thurman being the WBA Super champion. Also the winner of Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter will be the WBC champion.
Alternatively, 3kingsboxing.com previously reported Pacquiao’s interest in challenging Vasyl Lomachenko at a catchweight of 137 pounds. Bob Arum has spoke of this as well and Lomachenko accepted the challenge.
This may be a difficult feat as Pacquiao has not weighed in for a fight anywhere near 137 pounds since he fought Ricky Hatton in 2009.
As of now, the new champion has refused to comment on what he intends to do next, so all we can do is wait to see how the rest of this legendary story pans out.
By: EJ Williams
