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WITH the 60th victory of a stellar career, Manny Pacquiao regained the WBA World Welterweight title with a TKO from Argentina's Lucas Matthysse in the seventh round at the Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur today.
Aged 39 and without long-time coach Freddie Roach, Pacquiao showed no sign of slowing down to raise his record to an impressive 60-7-2 (39KO). Roach was eliminated on the eve of the Malaysian bout and replaced by his former assistant coach and friend Buboy Fernandez.
But the legendary corner player did not miss it as Pacquiao toppled Matthysse three times en route to his victory over TKO. 19659002] It was Pacquiao's first stoppage victory since he arrested Miguel Cotto on the 12th round in 2009.
With Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mohamed Mahathir and Rodrigo Philippines President Duterte among the spectators, the biggest boxing match in the country since 1975 The shock of heavyweights between Muhammad Ali and Joe Bugner has lived up to expectations
Entering the ring with the theme song Eye of the Tiger by Rocky Balboa, Pacquiao dropped the roof as the favorite of the crowd
foot forward, being fast in their stride with short jabs, and the wave of action soon made the fans realize that it would only be not a repeat of the "run around the ring" scenario when Pacquiao lo st at Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pacquiao's first knockdown came about 30 seconds into the third round when he scored Matthysse with a straight jab, followed by 39, a left uppercut .
Pacquiao followed in the fifth round when one of his punches rocked Matthysse to the point that he had to take a knee at the end of the round.
But the end did not come until the end of the seventh round. As with the first knockdown, Pacquiao's left uppercut hit Matthysse on the button, knocking him off again.
Once Matthysse spat out his beak in the middle of the 10 shots, referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight. The only way to beat him was to stay calm, "Pacquiao said after the fight.
"In the third round, Buboy told me that the fight was mine and that I had to wait for my chance without
" And with his tactics, I'm coming back with the title today. "
With age catching up, there were issues surrounding a potential retirement for Pacquiao, but he was ignored by the Mahabuay hero.
"Do I look at 39? I train and fight like a 27-year-old," he joked with reporters
"As I said, I'm not gone, I'm still here. "
Pacquiao is back world and with this WBA title around his waist, there are still some fights in the future 40-year-old champion.
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