Manny Pacquiao scored three knockdowns total in his WBA welterweight title fight win over Lucas Matthysse on Sunday morning in Kuala Lumpur, although one of the knockdowns was extremely questionable.
In the fifth round of the fight, Matthysse went down with seconds left in the round. He took a knee as a delayed reaction even though replays showed he wasn’t even hit.
Manny Pacquiao drops Lucas Matthysse for a second time in the fifth round, this time with a delayed reaction from a right hook. It’s becoming a blowout #PacMatthysse pic.twitter.com/QXmXKJiEnO
— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) July 15, 2018
Was there something else earlier that had bothered him and caused the delayed reaction? Who knows, but that was odd.
Pac-Man did look like his old self during the fight. He showed quickness and threw punches in flurries, including an uppercut that landed and knocked Matthysse down in the third. He also dropped Matthysse in the seventh to end the fight via TKO.
Looking at his behavior during the final two knockdowns, Matthysse just did not seem to have any desire or heart to continue in the fight.
The win was Pacquiao’s first by knockout since 2009. He is now 60-7-2 with 39 knockouts in his career.
