MANILA, Philippines ? Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao has yet to rest on his laurels after his victory against “Tijuana Tornado” Antonio Margarito, but fans are already eagerly waiting for his next fight.
ABS-CBN sources said his next fight could come as early as the second quarter of 2011.
This means that Pacquiao could step into the boxing ring again around May 2011.
Pacquiao had just won the World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight crown, his 8th world title, by outpunching the Mexican in 12 brutal rounds last week.
6-month rest
The Filipino boxer, however, said he would need at least 6 months to rest after figuring in the most difficult fight of his career against the bigger Margarito.
?Magpahinga muna tayo ng anim na buwan para hindi naman tayo masyadong bugbog (We?ll take a break 6 months so that I won’t get so bruised.),? earlier said by the Filipino champion.
Before the Margarito fight, Pacquiao?s boxing promoter, Bob Arum, also projected that the Filipino?s next bout will probably take place around May 2011.
The Filipino champion added that when he returns to the ring next year, it would be unlikely to take place in a heavier division.
?Nakita natin si Margarito nung night ng fight, tumimbang sya ng 165 [pounds], almost 17 pounds ang laki sa akin, kaya malakas talaga sya. Mahirap ‘yun (We saw Margarito on fight night, he weighed 165 pounds, almost 17 pounds heavier than me that?s why he?s strong. It was difficult for me),? said Pacquiao. Boxing analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz
The ?Fighter of the Decade? said he?d probably return to the welterweight division (147 pounds) or even lower.
?Give Manny a break?
Boxing analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz, meanwhile, appealed to the people handling Pacquiao?s career to allow the Filipino champ to take his much-deserved break from boxing.
?Let him rest and relax and allow the aches and pains that he suffered in a tough fight against a much bigger and stronger Antonio Margarito ease before people start pressuring him about another fight,? he said in his commentary posted on Philboxing.com.
Nathanielsz said they should allow Pacquiao to recharge his batteries so he?d return to boxing with ?renewed energy and interest?.
?Let Manny savor the adulation of his people and his colleagues in Congress, enjoy his birthday on December 17 and the Christmas season with his family, and then turn his attention to the many tasks before him as the representative of the lone district of Sarangani province in the House of Representatives,? he said.
