SPORTS ROUNDUP 10: PACQUIAO FINALLY WINS BY STOPPAGE OVER MATTHYSSE AFTER NINE YEARS OF K.O. DROUGHT
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 15 Jul 2018
Manny Pacquiao proved several sports scribes wrong when he turned back the clock of Father Time, fighting like the Pacquiao of yesteryears in stopping Argentinean Lucas Matthysse at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He won the WBA regular welterweight championship his eleventh world title in eight divisions, excluding lineal and honorary titles, making him champion in all four boxing governing bodies WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF.
Pacquiao's last knockout victory was over Puerto Rican Miguel Angel Cotto in a 12th round TKO to grab the WBO welterweight title on November 24, 2009 to be exact at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada.
It was Pacquiao's 69th fight, his 39th KO win in 60 victories as against 7 losses and 2 draws. He had so far 3 KO losses (Rustico Torrecampo, Medgoen Singsurat, and Juan Manuel Marquez) and 4 defeats by decision (Erik Morales, Timothy Bradley, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Jeff Horn).
Matthysse suffered his 5th loss in 45 career fights, and only his 2nd KO loss. His other KO defeat was inflected by Viktor Postol. Zab Judah, Danny Garcia and Devon Akexander handed his other losses.
"Thank God for this victory," Pacquiao said. "This is all dedicated to God and all the Filipino people. Thank you to our country and our president for watching this fight."
"We did a good job and my team in training," Pacquiao said. "We were not pushing hard like we did when we were very young. We controlled ourselves in the training but it's heavy training. Thanks to all of my team for working hard in this fight."
When interviewed after the fight what was his difficulty in fighting Pacquiao, Matthysse answered, "To fight Manny Pacquiao. He's a great fighter and a great champion."
"Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose," Matthysse said. "Today was my turn to lose and I lost to a great fighter and a great legend in Manny Pacquiao. [I'm going to] take a rest, take a break. I worked really hard and I want to go back home to my family. This is part of boxing that you win some and lose some. Today was my turn to lose but nothing more."
Compubox Punchstats tells the story.
Punches Landed:
Pacquiao - 95 of 344 for 27.6%
Matthysse - 57 of 246 for 23.2%
Jabs Landed:
Pacquiao - 16 of 163 for 9.8%
Matthysse - 21 of 115 for 18.3%
Power Punches Landed:
Pacquiao - 79 of 181 for 43.6%
Matthysse - 36 of 131 for 27.5%
When the opening bell signalled the start of the first round, both boxers immediately unleashed their punches. Pacquiao showed his tremendous hand speed, with Matthysse having difficulty defending the quick voluminous punches from Pacquiao. Matthysse tried to counter Pacquiao's fast blows in the second round, and those hits came from different directions.
In the third, Pacquiao hit a hard left uppercut that dropped Matthysse. He was able to get up as Pacquiao landed more shots. Matthysse again received solid straight lefts from Pacquiao in the fourth.
In the fifth stanza, Matthysse dropped on his knee when punched by Pacquiao in the temple by a hard combinaiion for the second knockdown. A low blow hit Pacquiao at the start of the sixth round. Series of jabs followed by a brutal left uppercut shook Matthysse.
In the seventh, a devastating left upper cut dropped Matthysse again for the third time and he spit his mouthpiece prompting referee Kenny Bayless to stop the match at 2:43 of the round.
Here in Maasin City, we had a free viewing of the fight at the city hall lobby, not at the City Gym because the flooring was under construction. Cheers erupted from spectators who came from all walks of life - drivers, employees, senior citizens, vendors, and even women - were heard when the senator floored and stopped the Argentine champ.
Mabuhay ka Senador Manny Pacquiao!
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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