Manny Pacquiao of the Phillipines waves at his supporters after he lost against Jeff Horn of Australia, not shown, during their WBO World Welterweight title fight in Brisbane, Australia, Sun. 2 July, 2017. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
The aftermath of any Manny Pacquiao fight—whether he wins or loses—is always an engaging conversation.
And now that he has lost for the seventh time, the dialogue again swirls around whether Pacquiao has lost his sting and zing and should really start thinking of retirement.
In his unanimous decision loss to Jeff Horn, whose strategy of wrestling and elbowing Pacquiao through out the 12-round “Battle of Brisbane” introduced a new chapter on how to beat the fighting senator, Pacquiao and all the boxing insiders will be asked if it is indeed time to hang up the gloves.
Here’s my best guess: Pacquiao cannot stand the thought of never having had a second chance to beat an opponent and that’s why he hates the reality that Floyd Mayweather Jr. doesn’t want to fight him anymore. So sooner than we think, Pacquiao and his management team are probably already whipping up a return bout with Horn.
Age is not an issue for Pacquiao and it seems the pundits are more interested in retiring him than the fighter himself. Pacquiao’s 38 years may have been senior citizen status in the ’70s and ’80s but every generation has a new definition of what age is the new 40.
Let us allow Pacquiao to make the decision, whether to fight Horn again or another contender or actually hang up his mitts. Only he can decide on how much more punishment his body, mind and heart can take.
But let’s hope Pacquiao makes prudent choices for the sake of his countrymen who have been thrilled by his exploits and have been just as inspired to take on all kinds of hurdles. They will not be able to take it if their Pacman is reduced to becoming the fodder of younger, hungrier opponents. As much as they cherished the previous wins, the recent losses are hard to swallow.
Nevertheless, the ninth round will be hard to forget because of the amount of Filipino hope it ignited. Horn had roughhoused Pacquiao through out the first eight rounds and then suddenly the past and the present converged in round 9. Pacquiao had Horn gasping for breath and hanging on for dear life. But it would not be enough this time.