Argentina’s Lucas Matthysse reacts after he was knocked down by Philippines’ Manny Pacquiao during their world welterweight boxing championship bout at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on July 15, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Mohd RASFAN
Several senators congratulated their colleague Manny Pacquiao after winning the WBA World Welterweight Title over Lucas Matthysse of Argentina on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
According to a message from Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Pacquiao is “the fighter of the century” after what the Saranggani native did in his remarkable career.
“Collecting belts and leaping across weight divisions, Pacman is in a class up there with the greatest of boxers,” Zubiri said.
They also lauded Pacquiao’s efforts to rise up from challenges, with Senator Nancy Binay saying that the boxer taught Filipinos how to fight amidst adversity, and Senators Joel Villanueva and Sherwin Gatchalian regarding him as beacon of hope for his countrymen.
“Ipinakita sa atin ng ating Pambansang Kamao kung paano muling bumangon, at kung paano mapagtagumpayan ang mga balakid sa kabila ng maraming mga hamon sa buhay,” Binay said.
“Maraming Salamat Manny at binigyan mo na naman kami ng pag-asa,” Gatchalian added.
“Indeed, with hard work and determination, nothing is impossible. Thank you for once again bringing so much honor to the country,” Villanueva said.
Meanwhile, Senator Richard Gordon compared Pacquiao to 92-year-old Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad, who recently returned to politics.
“Mahathir Mohammad is Prime Minister of Malaysia and staged a comeback at 92. Manny Pacquiao is 39 and he wins his umpteenth World Title on his 60th fight. Age does matter but the will to win is it,” Gordon said in a tweet.
Pacquiao won via technical knockout (TKO), after flooring Matthysse with an uppercut with less than 20 seconds left in the seventh round.
The lawmaker/ basketball player/ boxer, who improved 60 wins with 39 knockouts, 7 losses, and 2 draws, has not knocked down any opponent in nine years since this bout. /je