AFTER his controversial loss to unbeaten Floyd Mayweather, questions are being raised over the future of Manny Pacquiao as a boxer.
Should the Filipino ring hero now retire from boxing?
Last Saturday, Pacquiao lost a unanimous decision to Mayweather to absorb the sixth loss of his career. It was later revealed that the ‘Pacman’? fought despite injuring his right shoulder in training just three weeks before the fight.
Of course, it might have been different five years ago when both fighters were at the peak of their careers. Pacquiao would have been quick, and clever enough to catch and deal the American his first taste of defeat.
Instead, against Mayweather, the Filipino superstar looked a tired old warhorse given one last ride in battle. He was beaten by a better man in the highest-grossing bout in boxing history.
Pacquiao fought well in the early rounds, but admitted he was bothered by the pain in his right shoulder, and was clearly out-boxed in the second half of the fight.
Despite losing to Mayweather, Pacquiao still left a winner, and he got much, much richer along the way. He was so widely popular that Mayweather, a former Olympic medalist fighting in his longtime hometown against a foreigner, was widely booed upon arrival in the ring and again upon departure.
So what should Pacquiao do next? Well, he should set his heart and mind on retirement, bow out and be proud in doing so.
The loss to Mayweather cannot take away the fact that Pacquiao won world titles in eight different weight divisions, his memorable wars against Mexican fighters including Juan Manuel Marquez, nor his demolition of ‘The Golden Boy,’? Oscar De La Hoya.
That is the Pacquiao the world will remember and relish.
His defeat of larger, stronger fighters who are legends in their own right, Diaz, Hatton, Dela Hoya, Margarito, Cotto, Mosley, and the way that he outclassed these fighters will live on beyond our memories.
Of course, it may be hard to convince Pacquiao to retire because there is still money to be earned, and there will be people around him who have their hands out for him.
Expect some members of Pacquiao’s entourage to convince him that he could have beaten Mayweather had he not been injured, or that the American merely got lucky.
But another defeat, if he continues fighting, would only tarnish his legacy.
Let’s face it, what is he going to achieve by having one more fight, or another one? Probably nothing, only money, more money. It’s a shame that there is so much money on the table in this sport.
But Pacquiao should not make the same mistakes as other boxers did and keep going on for the sake of more money. He no longer has anything to prove and anything left to achieve in boxing. He has accomplished so much, and has earned the world’s respect as one of the greatest fighters of all time.
Indeed, the world would like to see him walk away from boxing while all his senses are still intact and functioning.
He should not pursue unnecessary health risks. It’s going to be a very sad day if he develops the shakes and the stuttering that Parkinson’s visited on the likes of Muhammad Ali.
The world would want to see Pacquiao grow old, spend time with his family and be happy.
Boxing has always been the most brutal of sports, and its champions like Pacquiao deserve better. It is time for Pacquiao to hang up his gloves.
