Pacquiao proclaims he’s back after earning WBA crown
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Manny Pacquiao won for the 60th time with his first stoppage in nine years, and madea proclamation.
“This is it. I am back in boxing,” Pacquiao, 39, said after his seventh-round knockout of Lucas Matthysse late Saturday for the World Boxing Association welterweight title. “I amnot done. I’m still there.”
It was Pacquiao’s first bout since a contentious loss a year ago to Jeff Horn in Australia, and since parting ways with longtime trainer Freddie Roach to work with Buboy Fernandes.
“It’s just a matter of time. You have to rest and get it back and that’s what I did.”
Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs) knocked down Matthysse onto one knee in the third and fifth rounds. He knocked down the Argentine again in the seventh, and Matthysse spat out his mouthpiece, causing a frenzy among Pacquiao fansin the stadium.
“I am not boasting but ... I think he’s hurting from my punches,” said Pacquiao, who hadn’t won by knockout since 2009. “Every punch that I throw, he’s hurt. I think he’s scared of my punches.”
Matthysse, who won 36 out of 39 matches by knockout, said Pacquiao was a “great fighter, a great legend,” adding that he planned to take a break.
Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte and Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad attended the fight, the biggest in the country since the1975 heavyweight clash between Muhammad Ali and Australian Joe Bugner.
“I would like to congratulate senator Manny Pacquiao for giving us pride and bringing the Filipino nation together once more,” said Duterte, who flew to Malaysia for the bout ahead of an official visit. Duterte said in a statement that Pacquiao has proven himself again as “one of the greatest boxers of all time” and that the win will cement his legacy in the sport.
Scores of screaming Filipino fans in the stadium waved flags and chanted “Manny, Manny” throughout the match. Pacquiao’s rise to fame from an impoverished rural childhood to become one of the world’s wealthiest sportsmen over his 23-year career has made him a national hero. Pacquaio said he will return to his work as a senator for now but won’t be hanging upthe gloves just yet.