From the opening bell Manny Pacquiao 60-7-2 (39 KO) was way too much for Lucas Matthysse 39-5 (36 KO).
The speed. The Pac Man speed. The relentless movement, the in and out, the blistering combinations. Even at 39 and over a year removed from the ring, The Pride of The Philippines dominated in route to a 7th Round KO of Matthysse.
Sure, The Machine is basically flat footed most times and was basically tailor made for Pacquiao; however, that said, his punching power could have equalized matters at any given moment.
Despite this being Pacquiao’s first fight in sixteen years sans the legendary Freddy Roach as the Chief Second, he looked like, well, Manny Pacquiao.
Replacing Roach was longtime close friend and Pacquiao entourage staple, Buboy Fernandez. Buboy has been around the game and may have learned a few things under the tutelage of Roach but let’s face it, there is not much an inexperienced trainer is going to provide to a world titlist in a record eight weight divisions.
The speed of Pacquiao set the tone early and Matthysse never got on track. When Matthysse utilized his jab, he began to have moments but he could never sustained his attack.
At the end of the third, Pacquiao dropped Matthysse with a chopping sharp left uppercut. Not overly hurt, Matthysse was up and fought to the bell.
It would be a sign of things to come.
In the next round, Matthysse had a moment or two but they were negated by how well Pacquiao was controlling most every aspect of the round through his distance, defense, and combination punching.
In the fifth, Matthysse was closing the round well but took a shot off of his temple and went down to a knee. Probably more stunned than anything, Matthysse was up after a moment or two with the round ending several moments later.
The sixth was more of the same, the speed too much, Pacquiao was visibly beginning to break Matthysse down.
In the seventh, that sneaky left uppercut again dropped Matthysse. This time he stayed on one knee and did not make an attempt to beat the count, conceding the fight and through his actions, implying that he had had enough.
Pacquiao officially came into this fight off of a loss; however, Standing-8 scored the Horn fight for Pacquiao-
https://standing-8.com/2017/07/04/pacquiao-v-horn-dissected-a-deeper-look-60-seconds-at-a-time/)
Most pre-fight predications were contingent upon what Pacquiao had left at 39, or what to expect after a year layoff. What we got was Manny being Manny.
Win number 60 was sweet in that he capture Matthysse’s WBA Welterweight strap, and as previously mentioned became a world titlist in a record eighth weight division.
Of course after the fight, the Pacquiao v. this guy and that guy conversation started. The usual suspects, names like Lomachenko, Garcia (Mikey + Danny), Spence Jr., Crawford.
We need to take the victory against Matthysse for what it was. A good matchup for Pacquiao to showcase his skillset. Matthysse is not a masterful boxer and although he can get you out of there if you get careless, speed is his nemesis. Additionally, he really hasn’t been relevant in years.
Yes, Pacquiao looked good, he was suppose to. Lets see him against a fighter with a bit more tools in their toolbelt before we put him in there with the elite.
One thing’s for sure, he’s an all-time great and truly special fighter.
Standing-8 