Lucas Matthysse vs Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao became a welterweight champion once more when he stopped Lucas Matthysse in the seventh round at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on 15 July 2018. Pacquiao, aged 39, weighed 146 pounds and entered with 59 victories, seven defeats and two draws. Matthysse, the 35-year-old defending champion from Argentina, weighed 146¾ pounds and brought a record of 39 wins, 4 defeats, and 1 no-contest, with 36 of his victories achieved inside the distance. The contest was for the World Boxing Association’s secondary, or “regular,” welterweight championship, with Keith Thurman then being recognised as the organisation’s “super” champion. Kenny Bayless stopped the fight at 2 minutes 43 seconds of the seventh round after Matthysse had been knocked down for the third time.

Pacquiao was returning after an absence of slightly more than a year and after the disputed-points defeat by Jeff Horn in Brisbane. It was also his first contest for many years without Freddie Roach as his chief second, Buboy Fernandez having taken charge of the training camp. Matthysse was making the first defence of the belt he had won by stopping Tewa Kiram in the eighth round six months earlier. The Argentine had long been regarded as one of boxing’s harder punchers, particularly during his years at light-welterweight, but defeats by Danny Garcia and Viktor Postol had removed much of the menace surrounding him. Pacquiao was also considered to be in decline, having failed to stop an opponent since Miguel Cotto in November 2009. Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte and Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad were among those at ringside for Malaysia’s largest boxing occasion since Muhammad Ali fought Joe Bugner in the country in 1975.

Pacquiao established command from the opening round. He moved forward behind the right jab, stepped outside Matthysse’s lead foot and brought his straight left through the centre. Matthysse, expected to be the stronger man, was instead made to retreat and found difficulty setting his feet for the right hand. Pacquiao did not attack with the reckless abundance of his younger days, but his feet remained quick enough to carry him into range and away again before Matthysse could answer properly. The champion’s punches were generally single blows, while Pacquiao varied his attack between the body and head and repeatedly changed the angle from which his left hand arrived.

Matthysse remained cautious in the second round and continued giving ground. He attempted to jab and counter with the right, but Pacquiao’s speed made him reluctant to commit. The Filipino was patient, feinting before stepping forward and keeping his gloves high in recognition of Matthysse’s punching reputation. The difference in activity was already plain. Pacquiao was deciding when the exchanges began and ended, while Matthysse was waiting for opportunities which seldom appeared.

The first knockdown came only 26 seconds into the third round. Pacquiao moved within range and drove a left hand between Matthysse’s gloves, dropping him onto the seat of his trunks. The champion rose at five and was permitted to continue, but his expression and subsequent caution suggested that the blow had disturbed him more than the count indicated. Pacquiao did not rush after the finish. He resumed behind the jab, remained balanced and continued placing the left hand whenever Matthysse stood square. The Argentine reached the bell but had surrendered another round and much of his confidence.

Matthysse produced a straight right in the fourth, which Pacquiao accepted without difficulty. Late in the round, the challenger landed two straight lefts within a few seconds, again forcing Matthysse backwards. An accidental clash of heads briefly interrupted the fifth, but the champion had his best attacking moment of the fight shortly before the bell. Matthysse clipped Pacquiao with a left hook and appeared, for once, to have found a useful opening. Pacquiao answered immediately with a short right hook to the temple. Matthysse dropped to one knee rather than attempt to remain upright and received another count. He rose as the bell sounded, but the manner of the knockdown suggested a fighter seeking relief as much as one physically driven to the floor.

Twenty seconds into the sixth round, Matthysse landed a right hand below the permitted target, and Bayless halted the action to allow Pacquiao time to recover. Pacquiao required little delay and attacked as soon as the contest resumed. Matthysse did slightly better during the remainder of the round and landed in double figures for the only time in the fight, but he could not alter its direction. Pacquiao continued to beat him to the punch, stepping around the champion’s front foot and delivering straight lefts and short hooks before moving out of reach. Matthysse’s own right hand was too slow and too infrequent to discourage him.

The seventh followed the established pattern. Pacquiao pressed without becoming careless, while Matthysse boxed with the appearance of a man hoping to reach the end of the round rather than reverse the contest. With 23 seconds remaining, Pacquiao followed a combination with a left uppercut, which caught Matthysse cleanly and sent him to one knee for the third time. Bayless began the count, but Matthysse removed or spat out his mouthpiece and showed no readiness to continue. The referee stopped the bout at 2 minutes 43 seconds. There was no complaint from Matthysse or his corner. All three judges had Pacquiao leading 59–53 after six completed rounds.

Pacquiao had landed 95 of 344 punches, while Matthysse connected with 57 of 246. The figures reflected the Filipino’s superiority in speed, activity and placement rather than a contest decided by sustained exchanges. Matthysse was never able to impose the strength or punching power upon which his challenge had largely been based. He spent too much time waiting, allowed Pacquiao to set the distance and offered little resistance once the challenger began landing regularly. Pacquiao, though no longer the tireless attacker of earlier years, showed that sufficient speed, judgement and punching force remained for him to defeat a limited champion decisively.

The victory was the 60th of Pacquiao’s professional career and his first inside the distance for nearly nine years. It returned him to championship standing after the defeat by Horn and prolonged a career which had begun in 1995 at light-flyweight. Matthysse suffered the second stoppage defeat of his career and announced his retirement soon afterwards, ending with 39 victories and five defeats. The result was less a revival of the Pacquiao of his peak years than a clear demonstration that the remaining version was still too quick, experienced and accurate for Matthysse.