This is the reason why Freddie Roach will not prevent Manny Pacquiao from leaving boxing if and when he decides to retire after his title fight with Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Aware that politics has already gotten half of Pacquiao?s interest following his election as the lone representative in Congress of the province of Sarangani, Roach bared that he?ll counsel the world?s top pound-for-pound fighter to hang up his gloves if he’s asked for his opinion on the matter.
?I would tell him to call it a day,” said Roach shortly upon arriving in Los Angeles over the weekend after spending the last four weeks helping Pacquiao get in shape at his high-altitude training camp in Baguio City.
?I believe that if that?s where his heart is, then that?s where it is,” stressed Roach, 50. ?You know, if he beats Antonio Margarito, it would be his eighth world title. And what more would he have to accomplish?.”
Roach just expounded on his earlier remarks made in an interview by BBC World News that retirement may soon beckon the Filipino boxing icon.
And it?s no secret that politics is behind it.
?Well, he (Pacquiao) loves his job. He said he misses his job as a congressman. His mind was on Congress for the first few weeks of training, and you could tell. It wasn’t on being in the gym,” he added.
?He’s so proud to be a politician, and he walks the walk. He loves being a congressman and trying to improve his country. And I feel that eventually, yes, w
