Fast Results from Kuala Lumpur: Vintage Pacquiao TKOs Matthysse

It was late Sunday morning in Kuala Lumpur when Lucas Martin Matthysse stepped into the ring against Manny Pacquiao to defend his WBA welterweight title. The 39-year-old Pacquiao, who can be called a living legend without exaggeration, is not the Pacquiao of old, but tonight he turned back Father Time and made his opponent look older than his years.

The presumption was that the 35-year Matthysse, who had answered the bell for 266 fewer rounds, would have the edge if he could take Pacquiao into the later rounds, but he never had the opportunity. He was conspicuously slower than Pacquaio and had less dynamite in his fists.

Pacquiao scored knockdowns in the third and fifth round and then again in the seventh, the third knockdown the finisher. The first and third knockdowns were the product of left uppercuts, the middle knockdown coming from a counter right.

Although Pacquiao was a consensus 2/1 favorite in man-to-man betting, it was very easy to build a case for the underdog. The PacMan, in his twenty-third year as a pro, was coming off a 378-day layoff, the longest of his career. His last 13 fights had gone the distance and he would be without Freddie Roach with whom he was joined at the hip during the glory years. But Pacquiao, who improved to 60-7-2 with his 39th KO, had too much class for Matthysse who declined to 39-5.

Pacquiao had something of a home field advantage. There are 35 Filipino organizations in Malaysia. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was at ringside, reportedly the first Philippine president to see Manny Pacquiao fight live.

As for what’s next for Pacquiao, it’s an open secret that Bob Arum would love to put him in against Terence Crawford. But Pacquiao calls his own shots now and has expressed an interest in Amir Khan.

What is certain is that we haven’t seen the last of the Filipino marvel.  “Pacquiao’s rickety business and financial empire,” notes Nigel Collins, “still depends on his boxing income to stay liquid.”

Other Bouts

In the co-main, what had been a humdrum fight between a pair of southpaws turned into something different in the ninth frame when Jhack Tepora smashed Edivaldo Ortega to the canvas with a big right uppercut. Ortega, who appeared to be ahead on the scorecards, beat the count but had trouble defending himself, leading the referee to call a halt.

Tepora, from the Philippines, remained undefeated (21-0, 16 KOs) while grabbing the interim WBA world featherweight title. Mexico’s Ortega slipped to 26-2-1. The WBA recognizes Leo Santa Cruz as their “super” featherweight champion.

In a one-sided affair, Venezuela’s Carlos Canizales (20-0-1, 16 KOs) dominated China’s Bin Lu in route to a 12^th round stoppage. There were only five seconds left in the fight when the referee stopped the fight after Canizales scored his second knockdown, the first coming in the previous round.

A 2016 Olympian, Lu had only one pro fight going in, having won his debut in Beijing against an opponent with an 8-9 record. Had he won, he would set the record for becoming the fastest world title holder, an achievement that would have said more about the corrupt WBA than about courageous Bin Lu who left the ring on a stretcher and will likely never fight again.

Also, South Africa’s Moruti Mthalane (36-2, 24 KOs) captured the vacant IBF world flyweight title with a unanimous but narrow decision over Muhammad Waseem (8-1). In a good action fight with a zesty final round, it was a case of too little, too late for Waseem who scored the bout’s only knockdown, putting Mthalane on the canvas in the 11^th round. It was the 14^th straight win for Mthalene who previously held this same title but had it stripped from him for inactivity. Waseem was bidding to become the first fighter from Pakistan to win a world boxing title.

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