Video: Manny Pacquiao dominates, stops Lucas Matthysse in 7th round

Manny Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs) was far too much for Lucas Matthysse (39-5, 36 KOs) to handle, as the only eight-division world champion in boxing history dropped the native of Argentina three times, including twice with uppercuts. The last knockdown more or less led to Matthysse throwing in the towel on himself, as Kenny Bayless waved the fight off.

This was Pacquiao’s first stoppage win since 2009, when he blasted Miguel Cotto in a scintillating performance. The 39-year-old wasn’t an overwhelming favorite against Matthysse, as he did come off a controversial loss to Jeff Horn, plus dropped longtime trainer Freddie Roach. Matthysse may be far from his own prime, but Pacquiao looked good, and the fans in Malaysia loved every second of it. Pacquiao is now the WBA “regular” welterweight champion, which in the world of alphabet soup titles... really means nothing unless Keith Thurman vacates or is stripped of his belt.

Watch the highlights in the videos below, and at the top of the page. Here’s how Mookie Alexander described the final round:

Round 7 - Not much happening in the first half-minute. Stinging left once more by Pacquiao. Matthysse just keeps getting tagged clean. Pacquiao gets marked up, fires off four more punches in return. Vicious uppercut by Pacquiao. Manny remains the aggressor as Matthysse struggles to land the fight-changing power shots. Pacquiao puts Matthysse down for a third time and that’s it! Manny Pacquiao’s first stoppage win in nine years.

Official result: Manny Pacquiao def. Lucas Matthysse by TKO at 2:43 of round 7