By Nick Giongco
Manny Pacquiao says his near decade-long knockout spell has almost made him forget about the thrill of scoring a stoppage.
Unable to post a knockout since 2009 until he brutalized Argentine Lucas Matthysse in Malaysia in July last year, Pacquiao is aiming to keep his renewed zest for ring savagery going when he meets Adrien Broner on Jan. 19 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Still, Pacquiao makes it clear that he isn’t issuing a forecast for his scheduled 12-round slugfest although he is keen on getting another KO victory.
“I am not making a prediction but my goal is to knock out Broner,” said Pacquiao before resuming training at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood. “I have to maximize the opportunity. I forgot how much fun winning a fight by knockout was until I stopped Lucas Matthysse last summer.”
The sight of Matthysse crumbling to the floor three times may have ignited something within Pacquiao so much so that the 40-year-old is looking forward to another one.
“It felt great to win that way and the fans loved it too, so why not go for it again,” said boxing’s only eight-division champion.