MANILA, Philippines – Former champion Lucas Matthysse defended himself from critics who claimed he quit against Manny Pacquiao in their fight in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last Sunday.
Matthysse said he’d been hearing a lot of criticism from his countrymen back in Argentina following his seventh round technical knockout defeat to Pacquiao to yield the WBA welterweight title.
"They say I [quit] and a lot of bull****, nonsense," Matthysse said in a boxingscene.com report.
The 35-year-old fighter hit the deck thrice against Pacquiao — once each in the third, fifth and seventh rounds — during their clash at the Axiata Arena.
In the last knockdown, Matthysse dropped to his knee after eating another thunderous left uppercut from Pacquiao. He spat his mouthpiece in the process, which prompted referee Kenny Bayless to wave the fight off at the 2:43 mark of the seventh round.
Matthysse said he did everything he could, but that his best simply wasn’t good enough for a faster and more powerful Pacquiao, who finally scored his first knockout win since 2009.
"I know everything I did, and I know what kind of effort I made. But things did not work out," he continued.
Matthysse, who absorbed his fifth career loss, added that he already expected the backlash from his countrymen.
"Just as we criticize [Lionel] Messi, who is the best soccer player, [the critics] are going to kill me. That's how we Argentines are. You have to put up with everything people say, but I'm very proud of where I came from and I got the most out of what an Argentine boxer can aspire to achieve,” he said.
Matthysse entered the fight hoping to take his title home for his countrymen, who could use a morale-boosting win following their national team’s early exit in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup.
Fate, though, had a different script.
"You win some and you lose some. They give you criticism, but we Argentines are like that, what are you going to do? Right now I have to rest. I was away from home for a long time. I want to be with my daughter and my family, who are the ones who always welcome me with a hug," said Matthysse.