LAS VEGAS—Where Manny Pacquiao is headed, even Freddie Roach doesn’t know.
Roach said Pacquiao’s fate will depend on the medical report of the one-punch knockout he suffered against bitter rival Juan Manuel Marquez with just a second left in the sixth round.
The decisive blow landed squarely on Pacquiao’s jaw as he was charging in and he fell flat on his face, unconscious for about a minute.
As a routine precaution, Pacquiao was brought to the hospital for a thorough examination.
Though Pacquiao expressed willingness to fight again, he can’t do it on a whim now, a member of his team said.
Later in the night, however, Pacquiao seemed fit and well as he was given clearance to return to his suite at THEHotel.
During the ring interview, Pacquiao said he is willing to do battle with Marquez again, but it will depend on the promoters—Bob Arum for him and Fernando Beltran for Marquez.
Before the end came, Pacquiao was actually getting the better of Marquez.
Wanting to end the round with aplomb, Pacquiao unleashed a left that barely touched Marquez, who then found the opening to deliver the decisive right straight.
It was the first knockout loss for Pacquiao in 12 years. Weakened by too much weight loss, Pacquiao was also stopped by Thai Medgoen Lukchaopormasak Thammarat in the third round in Thailand.
“I didn’t see it coming,” Pacquiao said of the Marquez punch that sent his wife Jinkee, who was at ringside, into hysterics, crying as she tried to get to her unconscious husband.
Promoter Bob Arum later consoled and assured her that everything would be alright.
Pacquiao, who knocked down Marquez four times in their first two fights, went down in the third round when Marquez tagged him with a looping right.
After clearing the cobwebs on his head, Pacquiao went to work and retaliated with a knockdown of his own in the fifth.
Roach said Pacquiao got careless in his desire to finish off Marquez, who sustained a bloody nose and mouth as a result of Pacquiao’s bombardment from the fourth round.
After recovering his wits at the dugout, Pacquiao told Roach that he’s considering retirement.