Pacquiao not yet done, plans to defend title

KUALA LUMPUR – Talks of retirement immediately went down the drain for Manny Pacquiao after his emphatic technical knockout win over Lucas Matthysse Sunday to become the new WBA welterweight champion.

Pacquiao flaunted his old, fiery form against Matthysse, knocking down the defending champion three times and stopping the Argentine in the seventh round. In the process, he ended his nine-year knockout drought.

And there’s no stopping the Filipino icon for now.

“Like I said, I'm not done. I'm still here,” Pacquiao told reporters at the post-fight presser.

The win over Matthysse is the 60th for Pacquiao, who will turn 40 in December. His age, according to Pacquiao, is just a number.

“Do I look like I'm 39? You cannot say that I’m 39. You can say I’m 28,” Pacquiao added, eliciting laughter from the audience.

Calls for Pacquiao to hang up his gloves came shortly after his controversial loss to Jeff Horn in Brisbane, Australia last year.

But Pacquiao will now hear none of it, especially after a redeeming performance against Matthysse at the Axiata Arena.

“I’m still okay,” he said.

Pacquiao said he is holding on to the WBA welterweight strap, the latest in his collection of diadems from different sanctioning organizations. He has now won championships from all the four major boxing sanctioning bodies, including the WBC, IBF and WBO.

“I want to defend my title, my belt. Give a good show,” he said.

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