Manny Pacquiao will enter his November bout with Brandon Rios in desperate need of a victory after looking suspect en route to suffering back-to-back losses in 2012.
But even though some boxing pundits have suggested the 34-year-old southpaw hang up his gloves for good following his brutal knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez last December, Pac-Man is smart to continue his boxing career, which he would no doubt like to end on a better note.
In a recent interview, Pacquiao expressed confidence in his boxing ability and appeared determined to contend for the next few years, per The Guardian:
I'm not really sure (how many fights left). As long as I can still fight, I can fight. In my mind right now, maybe I can still fight maybe two to three years from now.
I tell you frankly, honestly in myself I can still fight and I feel strong. If there is something wrong in my body or something wrong in my boxing skill I have to think about that and think about retirement.
But since I lost the last fight, I still feel strong and I can still fight.
Pacquiao will certainly have a difficult time arguing that he's still at his best inside the ring given the underwhelming nature of his most recent performances. But at the same time, it was just over a year ago that he was the WBO welterweight title holder and in the midst of a 15-fight winning streak.
The megafight conversation involving undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be nearing its end, but to say that Pacquiao is done challenging just 14 months after he was regarded by many as the top pound-for-pound boxer on the planet is foolish.
Plus, the first of his back-to-back defeats was plagued by controversy. Timothy Bradley beat Pacquiao via a split decision in June 2012 in a fight that most everyone other than the judges scored in favor of the champion. Therefore, while it may show up in the record books as a loss, you could easily chalk that bout up as a win for him.
On the other hand, there's no arguing Pac-Man's knockout loss to Marquez. But it must be noted that he had beaten his Mexican rival just 13 months earlier, improving to 2-0-1 against him before suffering just the third knockout loss of his career in the fourth bout with Dinamita.
When Pacquiao says that he feels strong and capable, you have to believe him. He's done enough inside the ring and has more than enough going on outside of boxing to walk away whenever he likes.
But like any great athlete, Pacquiao wants to walk out on top. And by giving himself another two or three years to wrap up his career, he has a good shot to become one of the lucky ones.
Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter.
Read more Boxing news on BleacherReport.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment