Manny Pacquiao beats Lucas Matthysse to claim WBA welterweight title

Philippine boxing legend Manny Pacquiao defeated Argentine Lucas Matthysse in the seventh round, winning the World Boxing Association's welterweight title on Sunday.

Pacquiao controlled fight from the beginning at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, forcing Matthysse to the canvas in the third, fifth and again in the seventh round.

The 39-year-old Pacquiao's win is a direct response to all those who predicted the end of his career. The Filipino boxer is the only one in the history of the sport to have won nine world titles in eight different categories.

Pacquiao's record reads 60 wins, 39 of them knockouts, and seven defeats.

Matthysse, 35, has 39 wins, 36 of them knockouts, and five defeats.

Pacquiao had lost his last fight against the Australian Jeff Horn, who took the welterweight title of the World Boxing Organization on Jul. 2, 2017 by unanimous decision in a fight held in Australia.

Matthysse appeared more confident in Malaysia, having won his last fight against the Thai Tewa Kiram, whom he knocked out in the eighth round at the Inglewood Forum in Los Angeles, United States, in January, a victory that earned him the WBA welterweight world champion belt.