Manny Pacquiao put in a dominant display as he stopped Lucas Matthysse in the seventh round to claim the WBA welterweight title from the Argentine.
Pacquiao dropped Matthysse in the third and fifth rounds before the referee stopped it after he sent him to the canvas for a third time in the seventh.
The victory gave the 39-year-old the 60th win of his career, which also includes seven losses and two draws.
“I’m surprised I knocked him down so early,” said Pacquiao.
“It was a long time ago since I’ve done that. I came out smoking hot.”
The win gave the Filipino, who has been world champion at eight different weights, his first inside the distance since 2009.
He had replaced long-term trainer Freddie Roach with Buboy Fernandez for the contest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Matthysse, 35, had won 36 of his 44 fights by knockout going into the bout.
“We did a good job in training,” added Pacquiao. “We were not pushing hard – we controlled our pace and ourselves.
“I’m no longer young so thanks to my trainer and all my team members.” –BBC
