WBA Welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao has finally scored a TKO win against hard-hitting Lucas Matthysse of Argentina in the ?Fight of Champions? Sunday morning (Saturday in the US) at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Pacquiao knocked down Matthysse three times before referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight at 2:43 of the seventh round.
Matthysse could not cope with Pacquiao?s speed and power as the fighting senator started throwing punches in the opening round and was clearly seen as the aggressor as the fight progressed in the later rounds.
Pacquiao seems unhurt after the fight and was a bit surprised with the unexpected performance shown by the Argentine fighter.
?I?m surprised because Matthysse?s a very tough opponent and I knocked him down,? Pacquiao said during the post-fight interview.
Matthysse tried to confront Pacquiao with his vaunted power punches but could not find his range as Pacquiao was constantly moving. But he accepted defeat and praised Pacquiao for being a great fighter.
?He?s a great fighter and a great champion,? Matthysse said. ?It turned around. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Today it was my turn to lose. But I lost to a great fighter, a great legend, Manny Pacquiao,? he added.
Pacquiao?s last knockout win was in Nov. 14, 2009 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada against former WBO Welterweight champion Miguel Cotto.
After the Cotto fight, Pacquiao scored three unanimous decision wins against Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley and a majority decision win against Juan Manuel Marquez.
In 2012, Pacquiao lost in a highly controversial split decision against Timothy Bradley. This was followed by his devastating loss against Juan Manuel Marquez in the same year.
In his comeback fight after losing to Marquez, Pacquiao scored a series of unanimous decision wins against Brandon Rios, Timothy Bradley and Chris Algieri before losing to Floyd Mayweather in 2015.
After is loss to Mayweather, the eight-division world champion scored two other unanimous decision wins against Timothy Bradley and Jessie Vargas before losing to Jeff Horn last year.
Asked by sports journalist Dyan Castellejo in a post-fight interview about his plan for next fight, Pacquiao said he may fight again this year but he would attend first to his job in the senate before deciding on his future fights.
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