Calls in Philippines for Pacquiao to retire

2:15 pm | Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

Manny Pacquiao prays in the ring before taking on Juan Manuel Marquez during their welterweight bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on December 8, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA—Philippine media commentators have put pressure on boxing great Manny Pacquiao to retire after his heavy defeat in Las Vegas, with one comparing him to Parkinson’s disease sufferer Muhammed Ali.

The southpaw who turns 34 next Monday has vowed to fight on. But many suspect that 17 years of pro ring combat are now taking their toll on the man once seen by many as the world’s finest pound-for-pound fighter.

Pacquiao, a national hero, was knocked out by Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas on Saturday in his second consecutive defeat.

“Pacquiao got hit hard but in the end, he was conquered by Father Time after it turned out he could no longer take a solid punch,” wrote sports columnist Recah Trinidad in the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper.

Pacquiao, who fought his way out of poverty as a teenager and is now immensely wealthy, had earlier controversially lost his World Boxing Organisation welterweight crown to unbeaten US fighter Tim Bradley on July 9.

Boxing television analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz said that while Pacquiao wants a shot at redeeming himself, there was always the danger that too many punches could condemn him to the fate of his US coach, ex-fighter Freddie Roach.

“The sight of Roach himself riddled by Parkinson’s disease and the great heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, wracked by the disease, sends shivers among many who care deeply for Pacquiao,” Nathanielsz wrote in the Manila Standard.

Philippine Olympic Committee vice-president Joey Romasanta said Pacquiao should have quit after his last winning title defence in 2011, when he retained his WBO welterweight crown against his old foe Marquez, now 39.

“It would have been nice if he had retired while he was ahead. In boxing, there will always be somebody better. After this loss, Manny should read the signs and consider these things,” Romasanta told the Manila Bulletin newspaper.

Pacquiao, a former eight-division world champion, has parlayed his boxing fame into a film and television career. He was also elected to parliament in 2010 and even become a Bible-quoting preacher.

Critics say this has led him to lose his focus on boxing.

But despite their misgivings, many more Filipinos still want Pacquiao to go out on a high note by winning everyone’s dream match before retiring.

To many, that would pit him against undefeated American fighter Floyd Mayweather Jr., even though earlier efforts to set up the dream match have failed.

“He shouldn’t retire. He has to recover and redeem himself. Then he can retire,” Roel Velasco, a bronze medallist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, told the Bulletin.

Even London-based Boxing News blogger Daniel Welling questioned whether Pacquiao should find a better way to bid boxing goodbye.

“It would be a huge shame if one of the greatest fighters of the modern era ends his career face down on the mat,” he wrote.

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Tags: Boxing , Manny Pacquiao , Muhammad Ali , Pacquiao , Parkinson’s disease , Sports

kapitanvic1

The principal goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing
new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done.
Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
rickysgreyes

There is only one reason why Manny should retire: HIS HEALTH. When you reach your 40s and 50s, all sorts of health issues will arise. Boxing in your mid 30s will be absolutely detrimental later on. Di na kaya ng katawan natin yung shock. It will manifest later on. In your mid 40s onwards, your health is your wealth. Forget the money and the fame. Problem is being the “gladiator” today is addicting, it’s not just the money but the feeling of being in the “arena”.

ray_area

agreed. although the gladiator addiction comes from the fans in my opinion. everyone wants to see another fight, regardless of how it affects his mind and body.

and now i hear he will fight again.

i hope for all our sakes that he doesn’t end up permanently injured.

ray_area

Nearly everyone commenting on this article approaches boxing like they do their faith, which is why so many comments seem to lack rationality.

batangpaslit

Bro, you should take into account the context of the news article and the feedback, hence, the discussions touched on the subject you pointed out.

Expression of faith is perhaps beyond reason; but, faith is not contrary to reason. Finite minds, could never comprehend things in the infinite.

ray_area

the title of the article is, “Calls in Philippines for Pacquiao to Retire” and its about whether or not Manny should end his career and the reaction of the people to his decision. That is the context.

other than the picture and caption, and a phrase about Manny being a preacher, not much religious talk…

…until you get to the comments section.

and you’re right, faith and reason don’t have to be contradictory, but they are often in conflict. and often times people will quote the Bible as if it were from the world of science and reason. and it is not.

but thats not a topic for this comment section.

boybakal

“It would be a huge shame if one of the greatest fighters of the modern era ends his career FACE DOWN ON MAT” London-based Boxing News blogger Daniel Welling…

FACE DOWN Manny is better than FACE UP Hatton in ending their careers.
Nobody saw Manny sleeping while Many saw Hatton trying to sleep.

On the other hand, Manny’s face down symbolizes his being Born Again….simulating as if he just been delivered from the womb.
boybakal

Manny really changed. Nagbago na talaga.
Dati ang dinadasalan ni Manny, mga Santo, ngayon Poste na ng ring.
What a change of Faith.
f35

“It would be a huge shame if one of the greatest fighters of the modern era ends his career face down on the mat,” ———->Daniel Welling (Boxing News)With all due respects, Mr. Welling, when one is hit hard like Pacquiao was, one cannot choose where he would fall or whether he falls flat on his face or facing up. You just fall, period !! It was not his choice to have fallen flat on his face so there is no shame on that. He got hit and got hit hard and that’s all there was to it. I do not know where the shame is. It is one of the risks one takes for being in a brutal profession like boxing is.

ray_area

the writer was obviously being artistic. he’s trying to push your buttons, which evidently, worked with you.

Eddie AAA Calderon

This is a very wise advice. Now that Manny has lots of money, why not concentrate his efforts on his work as a congressman. As our news commentators have observed, he has spent more time in the gym than his work as a congressman. This job is better than boxing as it helps our people. Boxing does not help anyone but himself. However, if he uses the money he earns for the welfare of the people then….
Also the consequence of boxing is not good for human health. A lot of boxers has suffered concussion which led them to have parkinson disease and debilitating disease in life.
Manny should also be careful on people including religious people who ask him for money. Some of them have ulterior motives and do not use the money to help our people.

ray_area

one can argue that manny, as a boxer, has done more for the PI than he has as a congressman; he has been a global galvanizing force for not only filipinos, but also the poor and disenfranchsed; in the ring he has been every bit of a humble champion.

karmicreal

Manny, you should retire. Marquez is much stronger now and your chin and punching power is not what it used to be. You couldn’t knock down Bradley even once in that match, and he had hurt both his legs mid-fight. For your own health and well-being, please retire.

ray_area

how does one become stronger at 38? you say marquez is stronger; where was that power in the first three fights? manny’s punching power? you mean the knockdown he scored? and he wasnt trying to knockout Bradley, he was trying to coast to a victory on the scorecards…

i agree that he should retire, but for none of the reasons you stated.

karmicreal

Marquez has always been a strong puncher; he seems to always enjoy popping speed bags with one punch for fun, and is a big reason why the past fights have been so close. However, to answer your question, having a conditioning guy like Angel Hernandez make him even stronger ‘legally’ (this is what he says) is one way how. Manny still has some punching power, but this time around, Marquez wasn’t knocked down flat to the ground the way Manny had hit him in the past; he just had his gloves touch the ground. And why would Manny want to coast to a victory against Bradley? I can understand against a Margarito, but against Bradley? I wasn’t expecting a knockout, but something close to a knockdown at the very least. Just the thought of Manny coasting in that fight makes me think that physically, he’s not the same fighter as before.

And that’s the main reason why I think he should retire. The physical toll of his previous fights have caught up to him. He’s had a great career and there isn’t much else to prove at this point. And sure, he could still beat most of the guys around his weight class, but to me, there’s really only two fights out there for him and that’s Marquez and Mayweather. Marquez, I feel, is too dangerous now because we know he’s capable of delivering a brutal k.o. to Manny and I think he knows Manny’s tendencies and bad habits far too well. And Mayweather is not going to want to fight a guy who just had a k.o. loss. So why not just retire and enjoy the myriad of other activities and responsibilities that he usually has going on in his life? What are your reasons for believing he should retire?
ray_area

once again, manny has seen his power, and has taken his best stuff.

Marquez last KO? 2006. hes a strong puncher(like all boxers) but not a one punch KO artist, especially at 38.

He’s a counterpuncher – which allowed him to catch manny with his right hand on the way in.

Doesn’t account for the devastating KO, though…

And hiring the trainer that was directly involved in the BALCO case is suspect, which was my point.

Anyone watching the Bradley fight knows that pacman thought he already won the fight and was coasting through the rounds; he did not go for the kill. Mayweather and a lot of prize fighters do the same.

i do agree that he should retire; he’s got nothing to prove to himself or to the world.
karmicreal

Actually according to Wikipedia, Marquez had a KO of Likar Ramos in 2011 and three TKOs after 2006, but nevertheless, I agree with your general point. His strength trainer and his dramatic change at his age does look suspect. Marquez, as good of a strong counterpuncher as he was, was never able to knock down much less knock out Manny completely cold in the past. Manny was usually able to sustain those punches. My point is still the same though; I’m just pointing out the obvious, and that’s that Marquez is different now and so is Manny. Marquez is much stronger now with a killer right hand (we may never know if he got it legitimately though). And as far as I can remember, Manny was never the type to coast to a win, at least not until he fought bigger guys like Margarito and Mosley. I think that’s indicative of how much all those fights have taken out of him, where it forced him to start coasting so he can take it relatively easy and be safe.
ray_area

moderator is kicking my comments…im not using profanity, whats the problem?…

haha the Ramos fight…it was a fix; it was a Marquez pep rally in Mexico…you can find the first round “KO” on youtube and see it for yourself. and while you’re watching, you can get a look at Marquez’ physique.

[just search for: 'marquez ramos KO' and it should be the first video that pops up]

both Margarito and Mosley were outclassed, which is why i think he didn’t go for the kill…Manny was never the type of guy to be merciless. He already proved he won the match…

i do agree he had safety in mind but not only his own with those two fights.

I also agree that Manny and Marquez are getting old. Manny can hang the gloves up, and despite what pacfans think, he can leave with his dignity intact.

edm365f31

PACQUIAO SHOULD HAVE JUST WAITED FOR A FIGHT WITH FLOYD MAYWEATHER AND HAVE THAT AS HIS LAST MATCH. BUT HE KEEPS ON MILKING THE MONEY POT BY SETTING UP THESE MEANINGLESS FIGHTS WITH BRADLEY AND MARQUEZ AGAIN. AND NOT PREPARING PROPERLY FOR THESE FIGHTS. WHO IN HIS RIGHT MIND AT HIS AGE WOULD JUST PUT UP 2 MONTHS TRAINING FOR A MAJOR FIGHT.
HE’S OVER-CONFIDENT AND CARELESS; I AGREE THAT HE SHOULD RETIRE OR HE’S JUST GOING TO GET HURT AND WOULD ALSO DO DISSERVICE TO HIS DEDICATED FANS LIKE MYSELF. IF HE CAN’T BE 100 PER CENT THEN JUST HANG UP THE GLOVES; YOU ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH MONEY DON’T BE GREEDY.
WHEN I READ STORIES OF HIM BEING A CHRISTIAN AND HAVING A HOUSE IN HOLLYWOOD WITH A FERRARI IN THE GARAGE NOT EVEN BEING USED; IT GOES TO SHOW THAT HE IS TOO MATERIALISTIC.
HIM AND HE’S FAMILY GETTING INVOLVE IN POLITICS JUST DOES NOT MAKE SENSE; IF HE WANTS TO REMAIN A BOXER JUST BE A BOXER AND TRAIN HARD AND DEDICATE YOUR TIME TO IT.
NOT SURE WHY HE WANT TO BE A POLITICIAN IF THE ONLY THING HE WANTS TO DO IS HELP HE’S COUNTRYMEN; HE CAN CREATE A FOUNDATION FOR THAT. EGO MAN THAT’S WHAT IT IS.

ray_area

first off, lay off the ALL CAPS…it loses its meaning when used throughout your comment…

second, its not manny’s decision to avoid mayweather; you can thank bob arum for that.

and lastly, i highly doubt that its greed or ego that makes manny fight…and thanks to “fans” like you, he feels compelled to fight for “his countrymen.”

thanks again for misjudging perhaps one of the most humble boxing champs to lace up the gloves…next chance you have to look in the mirror, try to look at yourself with the same amount of scrutiny.

UPnnGrd

“Face down on the mat….” Not the way to talk about one’s last fight.

Maybe Manny P should go for Vice President – Pilipinas as PersiNoynoy 2016 running-mate. (Except Noynoy2016 is beatable with his “10 minutes stay only!!!” in that village badly destroyed by Pablo). So Maybe MannyP can at least ask PersiNoynoy to make him Ambassador to Egypt or Monaco.,

Or MannP can be PersiNoynoy’s special ambassador to expedite the partitioning of Mindanao. This will make People Remember him as well as Pilipinas will remember persiNoynoy — partitioning.

Calls in Philippines for Pacquiao to retire

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