The November 23 bout between Manny Pacquiao and Brandon Rios will be the single fight that determines whether or not Pac-Man retires.
Apparently Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, agrees with that assessment of his future prospects, according to Mike Dawes of the Daily Mail:
"If it does not go well, we will seriously talk about his retirement and possibly going to politics," Roach said.
"It's really hard to say until we see the fight,but I will be the first one to tell him to retire, and we have an agreement that as soon as I tell him that, he will retire."
Talk about adding some more intrigue into a fight. Roach just did it; however, it was already speculated that this could be Pacquiao's last fight, considering he's lost his last two bouts after going on an impressive 15-fight winning streak.
The first loss came at the hands of a highly questionable and controversial decision to Timothy Bradley. His second defeat wasn't as controversial after Juan Manuel Marquez knocked Pac-Man out in a convincing win.
That wasn't supposed to happen. Instead, Pac-Man was supposed to win those two fights and be in line for a shot at Floyd Mayweather Jr.
That dream bout is far from a reality at the moment, and it will take an incredible comeback and a little bit of luck to make it happen at this point, as a fight between the two wasn't certain even when Pacquiao was at the top of the sport.
Pacquiao can't be worried about that right now. He has a career to save as he prepares for a hungry opponent such as Rios, who is coming off a loss to Mike Alvarado in March of this year.
Despite his losses, Roach doesn't see much of a change in Pac-Man's abilities while in the ring, per Dawes' report.
"I don't see him slipping in the ring at all," Roach said to Dawes.
As Roach mentioned, Pacquiao does have other interests, which include politics, outside the ring. Pac-Man is a congressman in the Phillippines, so it's no secret that he isn't stuck fighting forever as a means to support himself or keep busy.
Heck, Pacquiao is even contemplating a presidential run in his country.
With that being the case, a loss to Rios will be his third straight and there will be no sense in hanging around the sport since he'll be forced to fight middle-of-the-road to bottom-of-the-barrel opponents from here on out, thanks to his winless streak.
Pacquiao won't want to stick around as a former champion who has been reduced to a novelty act. His record and career overall make him deserving of a better finish in boxing, and it's unlikely he or Roach will allow his illustrious career to be dragged through the mud for much longer.
It's unfortunate that Pacquiao's career has come down to this, but such is the reality for aging athletes in any sport.
It was thought that Rios would be just tough a warm up for Pacquiao, as he looked to rebound from two devastating finishes in his last two fights, but now it's abundantly clear that this fight is for Pac-Man's career and it could be the last time we ever see the former champ.
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