MANNY Pacquiao has sent another former world champion into retirement.
Lucas Matthysse finally decided to walk away from the sport which he said ‘changed his life,’ just two weeks after losing via seventh-round stoppage to Pacquiao to yield his World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title belt in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The 35-year-old Matthysse announced his retirement on Wednesday in his hometown of Trelew, Chubut, Argentina.
“Today, I decide to hang up the gloves because another stage in my life is coming,” said the Argentine, without elaborating. “And many thanks to all of the people that I met, thanks to boxing.”
Matthysse is the latest fighter to retire from boxing after being dealt by Pacquiao a beating inside the ring. Previous world champions who did the same included the legendary Oscar Dela Hoya and Tim Bradley, who lost to the Filipino boxing icon in 2008 and 2016, respectively before deciding to hang up their gloves.
The former Argentina national team member retired with a ring record of 39-5 with 36 KOs. He lost two of his last four fights by knockout, although it was during that same stretch where he fulfilled his dream of becoming a world champion following his eighth-round stoppage of Tewa Kiram of Thailand last January in Inglewood, California to win the WBA 147-lbs. crown.
He was making the first defense of his crown against Pacquiao, who dropped Matthysse thrice on the way to the technical knockout victory. Nonetheless, the fight also proved to be the most lucrative of his 14-year career after earning a prize purse of $2 million.
Matthysse faced some of the best light-welter and welterweights during his prime, including Zab Judah, Devon Alexander, Humberto Soto, Lamont Peterson, Danny Garcia, Ruslan Provodnikok, and Viktor Postol.
“I am proud that I maintained my career for 10 years at the world level, where I fought with the best boxing, and I fulfilled my dream of becoming a world champion,” said the Argentine.
“Thanks to all those who followed me in my career, for all of their love because that is the most beautiful thing in this sport of boxing, which is a nice environment,” he added.
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