With potential opponents drifting away from him and fans touting any number of other fighters in his place, it seems as though Manny Pacquiao is no longer anything close to a hot property. Even mythical pound-for-pound lists, which have featured the Filipino Icon in prominent top spots for about a decade now, have begun to regard him as a fringe character. Roman Gonzalez, Gennady Golovkin, and even Wladimir Klitschko have all zipped past Pacquiao while some lists have removed Manny from the elite grouping completely.
Of course, being inactive with an injury following a disappointing loss to arch-rival Floyd Mayweather last May will drop you a few pegs, both in terms of P4P ranking and public appeal, but the losses sustained by Pacquiao seem way too intense and way too sudden.
The talk used to be about Pacquiao rehabbing his shoulder injury and simply continuing on with his career. Now, recent comments made to the press seem to indicate that Manny?s next fight may be his last. It would appear as though the eight-division former world champ will be pushed back into the ring just so he can lose to whoever promoter Bob Arum hand-selects as the ?next big thing.?
There could be many reasons for this. Maybe Pacquiao, himself, is just sick of the sport and his post-Mayweather experiences with critics and fans who are trying to sue him for coming into the mega-fight injured has soured him to the sport he once loved. Maybe?s he?s just more interested in the pursuit of politics these days.
Pacquiao?s promoter sure hasn?t done a whole lot to keep Manny?s name in lights while recovering. This could indicate that he also senses that Manny?s halfway out the boxing door and there is no turning back now.
Everyone else?HBO, many of the fans, the media?they are all well-documented frontrunners who love you when you?re on top and abandon you when you are down. And, in unison, just about everyone has seemed to leave Pacquiao?s side.
So, now all that?s left are Team Pacquiao?s loyal inner circle, the hardcore, unflappable fans, and Manny?s own will to win and inner desire. Actually, if you think about it, this is the perfect scenario by which Manny can return to his ?old school? style and regain the chip on his shoulder that made him want to utterly dominate his opposition.
Post-Mayweather, post mega-loss, post-injury, post pound-for-pound demotion, Manny Pacquiao has plenty to prove. The question is whether he wants to prove anything to the boxing world anymore.
