So what’s next?

Like most opponents that Manny Pacquiao have beaten, Lucas Matthysse undoubtedly prepared tenaciously, broke down previous Pacquiao fights on video and strategized on what to do during the fight.

All that preparation is all good and well until you actually step into the ring with Pacquiao. Many opponents have said that they never really saw Pacquiao’s punches because they simply landed.

If you’ve followed Pacquiao’s sterling ring career, you surely noticed the differences from a younger version of the fighter to what he put atop the ring in Kuala Lumpur. At 39 years, it was expected that Pacquiao would be a tad slower and less grittier than his younger self.

But the basics like the sound footwork and the quick hand speed were still around and Matthysee found that out early in the fight. The power was not as untamed or as vicious as it was against Ricky Hatton or Antonio Margarito but it was still there. It was enough to floor La Maquina (The Machine) thrice, and force him into submission.

The crowd at Kia Theatre in Cubao for the Cignal-Hyper presentation of the fight erupted each time Pacquiao tagged and floored the Argentine. It was probably a scene repeated many times wherever there were Pacquiao followers who have missed his knockdown heaves.

Pacquiao is still excellent as far as finding the angles are concerned. This is the invaluable lesson he and Buboy Fernandez learned from Freddie Roach. As clearly absent as Roach was in the fight, his teachings were still be- ing executed by his students.

So what’s next for the multititled champion? The appetite for the ring, the hoopla and big wins has obviously been satisfied but who’s left in the horizon? As fighters always say at the end of each winning fight, the next opponent depends on how much mobile phone time is used up. And of course, the prices of everything have to be right.

And what about retirement? Even that is most likely to be on hold after this victory. Pacquiao’s not the type to gloat and fire back at critics who have begged him to stop because of all the retirement reasons that have been pitched. He will again think about it in time because only he can tell when he has reached the end of the road.