Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines poses after defeating Lucas Matthysse of Argentina during their WBA World welterweight title bout in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, July 15, 2018. Pacquiao won the WBA welterweight world title after knocking out Matthysse on round seven. (AP Photo/Yam G-Jun)
A year ago, it seemed that retirement was the best option for Manny Pacquiao after Jeff Horn dealt him his second loss in his last four fights.
But after regaining his old deadly form in a seven-round demolition of Lucas Matthysse on Sunday, it’s clear that Pacquiao extended his already surefire Hall of Fame career at least for a couple of more fights.
“Like I said, I am not done,” said Pacquiao. “I’m still here.”
READ: ‘Do I look 39?’: Pacquiao rolls back years in KO win
“It’s just a matter of time before you get a rest and get it back.”
Pacquiao turns 40 this year but is reinvigorated. Time and again during the post-fight press conference, the newly-minted WBA welterweight champion said he doesn’t feel like he’s 39.
“First, at 39 years old, I’m still fine. The way I work and fight, you can tell that I’m like 28, 27 years old,” a beaming Pacquiao said.
Pacquiao was 27, 28 years old when he was at the peak of his powers and was an unstoppable force.
READ: Pacquiao: Matthysse scared of my punches
Father Time is undefeated but Pacquiao certainly showed flashes of his youthful, spry self in the ring against Matthysse.
Firing from different angles and displaying his speed and power, Pacquiao turned back the hands of time with the kind of performance that brought back memories of his 12-round obliteration of Miguel Cotto in 2009 when he last scored a knockout.
Heading into his bout with Matthysse, Pacquiao wanted to see for himself how much he has left.
READ: He’s back: Pacquiao shows he has a lot left in the tank with Matthysse KO
After knocking down the Argentine thrice, it looks like he has a lot left in the tank, enough for him to drop names of possible opponents for his fight when asked about his future plans.
“Yes. He (Amir Khan) is a potential opponent. There’s a lot of potential opponents like (Terence) Crawford, (Vasyl) Lomachenko. There are so many fighters that are potential opponents,” he said.
There are a lot of options for Pacquiao now and retirement isn’t one of them.
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