KUALA LUMPUR – Manny Pacquiao said he was motivated to put on a show in his title-clinching effort against Lucas Matthysse Sunday knowing the heads of both the Philippines and Malaysia were watching him live.
Pacquiao dethroned Matthysse, now the former WBA welterweight champion, with an emphatic seventh-round technical knockout win to impress two of the highest-profile spectators at the Axiata Arena here.
President Rodrigo Duterte, wearing a white shirt, was seated beside Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in a VIP area at the venue, to witness a throwback performance by Pacquiao wherein he knocked Matthysse thrice en route to the victory.
In an interview on the ring immediately after the fight, Pacquiao acknowledged Duterte and Mohamad, and the Philippines’ chief executive responded by raising his two thumbs at Pacquiao’s direction.
“I'm so inspired to give my best (knowing Duterte and Mohamad were in attendance),” Pacquiao later said at the post-fight presser.
Duterte flew in to this city Saturday evening to catch the fight live and is set to engage Mahathir in a dialogue.
He told television reporters after the fight that the trip was worth it.
“I am very happy. No regret that I came earlier to watch the fight. It's a good one,” said Duterte.
“It’s the first time that I traveled outside the Philippines just for a fight,” added the chief executive.
Mohamad, for his part, also had a great time, telling reporters that the fight is “a historic day for Malaysia.”