Worst case scenario is potentially around the corner. Recent reports state that Manny Pacquiao is talking about retiring after his November 13th fight regardless if he faces Floyd Mayweather Jr or not. Which means, The ‘Fight of the Century’ could possibly never happen. So, not only would we never see the PacMan in the ring again but we would be robbed of a fight between the sport’s greatest.
According to GMA News, Manny shared the following about his retirement plans:
“I don?t want to retire as a washed-up boxer. At the back of my mind, I’ve already contemplated on retirement as early as last year. I don?t want to retire from the sport at a time when I’m feeling pains on my body.”
I’m curious to learn if these retirement thoughts were before or after the Miguel Cottofight. Could these thought have been the result of the public attacks by the Mayweathers last year when Manny wouldn’t agree to Floyd Jr’s drug testing demands?
Right now, Manny is far from being “washed up”. He’s the pound for pound best fighter in the world. He just won fighter of the year last year. He’s coming off an impressive KO over Ricky Hatton, TKO over Miguel Cotto, and a physical onslaught of Joshua Clottey. Other than the Cotto fight, Manny didn’t take any punishment. And even in the Cotto fight, Manny didn’t take much of a beating.
So, how much has Mayweather Jr influenced these retirement talks from Manny Pacquiao? Have these 2 rounds of negotiations really frustrated Manny to the point of retirement? Is Floyd’s unwillingness to compromise driving Manny crazy? It has to be affecting Manny somehow because Manny has gone from saying 3 more fights to now retiring later this year.
“My mom doesn’t want me to fight anymore. But I convinced her, to give me one last fight. (After that) I’m already thinking about retirement” Pacquiao GMA News
Previously, Manny Pacquiao said he felt good and that he had 3 more fights in him. Now, we’re hearing that there will only be one more fight. What has changed between now and then? Does Mayweather Jr have anything to do with it?
I can already see it now, the “Money May” Nation will be screaming that Manny Pacquiao is the one that’s ‘running scared’ and ‘ducking’ Floyd Mayweather Jr. But is he really?
