Eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao believes Lucas Matthysse made the right call in deciding to retire from the sport of boxing.

Last month, Pacquiao battered and stopped Matthysse in seven rounds to capture the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight championship in Malaysia.

Earlier this month, Matthysse - at 35 years old - announced his retirement from the sport with a record of 39-5 with 36 knockouts.

In their fight, Matthysse was knocked down three times and appeared to be overwhelmed in the fight.

Pacquiao was coming back from a loss and a one-year layoff - and at 39 years old his career was resurrected with the win.

During his retirement, Matthysse explained that his desire to continue fighting has dwindled down. 

“That’s okay. He (Matthysse) really earned a lot financially in his last fight. He should be proud of his boxing career and he has a good record,” Pacquiao told The Manila Times during a phone interview.

“It was a great pleasure to fight somebody like him from Argentina. My favorite football team is Argentina. He just made the right decision if he feels that way or he doesn’t like to box anymore. At the same time, he’s the one who will decide it if he’s going to continue."

International matchmaker Sean Gibbons, who helped put together the Pacquiao-Matthysse card, also gave praise to the Argentine fighter.

“I would say Lucas Matthysse had a great career when he came back and won his first legit WBA world title,” said Gibbons in a separate interview, referring to Matthysse’ knockout win against Tewa Kiram of Thailand last January 27.

“At 35, it rejuvenated him. And going against Senator Pacquiao, he was rejuvenating. But after being devastated by Pacquiao, he just realized that he didn’t have it anymore. He left the boxing fans with a lot of memorable fights. He has a fight of the year with John Molina. He left the Matthysse name with a good legacy.”