Pacquiao vs. Matthysse Purse: Prize-Money Payouts After Main Event Fight

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - JULY 15: Manny Pacquiao of the Phillipines and Lucas Matthysse of Argintine in action on July 15, 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by How Foo Yeen/Getty Images)

How Foo Yeen/Getty Images

Manny Pacquiao rolled back the years in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday to stop Lucas Matthysse in the seventh round and clinch the WBA (regular) welterweight title at 39.

The referee called the TKO win for Pac-Man after a jilting uppercut sent Matthysse to the canvas for a third time, earning Pacquiao some redemption for his shock defeat to Jeff Horn in Brisbane, Australia, last year.

Pacquiao claimed the belt with the 60th win of his professional career (60-7-2), and even he was surprised by how easily the Argentinian fell, per BBC Sport: "I'm surprised I knocked him down so early. It was a long time ago since I've done that. I came out smoking hot."

It was a fair assessment after the veteran blitzed his opponent into submission, and ESPN provided highlights of a one-sided victory for the Filipino legend:

ESPN @espn
A TKO victory in his return to the ring. Manny Pacquiao knocked Lucas Matthysse down 3 times Saturday on his way to a welterweight world title. https://t.co/C1unZxzRW2

Pacquiao adviser Mike Koncz said his client would "definitely" net more than he made in his past three fights, against Timothy Bradley ($20 million), Jessie Vargas ($4 million) and Jeff Horn ($10 million), per Abac Cordero of the Philippine Star, .

Josh Katzowitz of Forbes reported Matthysse would take home a guaranteed purse of $2.5 million, a terrific consolation considering he bagged a reported $410,000 combined from his past two fights, both victories.

Matthysse looked a shade of himself for most of the fight, and CompuBox highlighted how dominant Pacquiao was en route to his first stoppage win since 2009:

CompuBox @CompuBox
Final Punch Stats for #PacquiaoMatthysse: Pacquiao landed 44% of his power punches. Matthysse landed single-digit punches in 6 of the 7 rounds. https://t.co/If7tciEsAJ

He showed an especially vicious streak as he sought his first win since 2016, per ESPN Stats & Info:

ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo
79% of Pacquiao's landed punches were to the head of Matthysse. 43 of those 75 landed head punches were with Pacquiao's left hand, including the final uppercut to put Matthysse down in the 7th round. https://t.co/mOrBfS89uM

Former assistant coach to Pacquiao, Buboy Fernandez, took over his preparations in place of Freddie Roach for this camp, and the benefits appeared clear at the Axiata Arena.

Despite his age, Pacquaio produced one of his more energetic performances in recent times, particularly after the surprise defeat to Horn at the Battle of Brisbane, and he celebrated getting back to winning ways:

Manny Pacquiao @mannypacquiao
To God be the glory! Thank you to my wife, my kids, and all of my family. Thank you to #TeamPacquiao for all your hard work! Thank you to my fellow Filipinos and to all my fans around the world! This is all our victory. God bless everyone. 🇵🇭 https://t.co/UdZ78XI5CD

Having scored such a comfortable win after a year out of action, it's perhaps not surprising Pacquiao showed an inclination towards fighting again in 2018, according to Los Angeles Times reporter Lance Pugmire.

There's little telling what the immediate future holds for Pacquiao, who may consider a return to a new lucky venue in Malaysia, where he turned back the clock to rack up a confident TKO victory over Matthysse.

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