(This piece appeared in InterAKTV on February 21, 2012.)
by Mark Lorenzana
Manny Pacquiao turns 34 this year.
As a boxer, he has logged a lot of miles: since turning pro in 1995, he has figured in a total of 59 fights, which translates into 353 rounds boxed. Just recently, Pacquiao had hinted that he might walk away from the sport after his upcoming fight with Timothy Bradley on June 9.
According to the Retired Boxers Foundation, the average age of retirement for a professional boxer is in the mid-30s. Some boxers, especially those who lose a lot of fights early in their career, decide to hang up their gloves at a young age while others hang on and continue fighting until their 40s. Right now, Pacquiao is at the optimal retirement age for boxers.
This is not the first time, though, that Pacquiao has hinted at retirement. Three years ago, Pacquiao announced that he would retire at the end of 2009 as he unveiled his plans to run for Congress. Then in 2010, after defeating Joshua Clottey, Pacquiao hinted that he might talk to his family about his possible retirement that year. The year after that, in 2011, there were talks once again that Pacquiao might call it quits after his fight with Sugar Shane Mosley.
Those previous retirement talks never really amounted to anything, so die-hard Pacquiao fans can at least take solace in the knowledge that nothing is set in stone yet, and that there’s a big possibility that Pacquiao might change his mind.
But here’s the thing: after Bradley, who’s next for Pacquiao? Floyd Mayweather Jr.? He won’t step in the ring with Pacquiao until he feels that Manny is too old and too shot. That fight will never happen in a million years. Juan Manuel Marquez? He has Pacquiao’s number, but Marquez will never ever get the benefit of the doubt against the judges because of his counterpunching style. The surest way for Marquez to beat Pacquiao is by a knockout, but it’s been three fights already, and he hasn’t floored the Pacman even once. Besides, Marquez already said that he will retire at the end of this year even if the fourth fight with Pacquiao doesn’t happen.
In other words, if a fight against Mayweather or Marquez can’t be made, who else could be a meaningful opponent for Pacquiao? A severely dehydrated Sergio Martinez? The high-risk/low-reward Lamont Peterson? Miguel Cotto again? Why?
So yes, Pacquiao retiring after the Bradley fight is perhaps the most logical decision that the reigning pound-for-pound boxer and future hall-of-famer can make at the twilight of his brilliant career. In boxing, it’s always a good idea to quit while you’re ahead, and not until you’ve been squeezed dry by your greedy promoter.
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Speaking of the undefeated Timothy Bradley, the reigning WBO light welterweight champion, how might he fare against Manny Pacquiao?
Juan Manuel Marquez had an interesting thing to say about the matchup: “Even though Bradley is a great boxer, and he has skills, he needs the power. He [doesn’t] have that power. Pacquiao has the speed and Pacquiao has the power. The difference in this fight is power. The difference will be the power punches that Pacquiao has.”
I agree wholeheartedly with Marquez’s assessment. In my last column, I wrote: “Timothy Bradley is young, undefeated, a good boxer with decent-enough skills, someone who has defeated quality opponents. Problem is, Pacquiao tends to make mincemeat out of offensive-minded fighters who take the fight to him, especially someone smaller and who has no power punch.”
I stand by what I wrote. To reiterate, the difference will be the power. It’s just common sense, really: Bradley doesn’t punch that hard, and Pacquiao has a world-class chin. If you cannot make Pacquiao respect your power, what’s gonna stop him from coming in and raining down blows on you until you scream “uncle” or until you get pounded out or until your cornerman throws in the towel, whichever comes first?
And here’s a little-known fact about Pacquiao that might seem trivial but I think is worth noting anyway: since Pacquiao won his first world title as a flyweight by beating Chatchai Sasakul in Thailand fourteen years ago, he has knocked out every single opponent he faced when he either lost or scored a draw in his previous bout.
Cases in point: Pacquiao knocked out Reynante Jamili in two rounds after losing to Medgoen Singsurat, Pacquiao stopped Jorge Eliecer Julio in round two after he settled for a draw against the late Agapito Sanchez, Pacquiao scored a fourth-round knockout against Fahsan 3K Battery after he drew with Marquez in their first fight, and Pacquiao annihilated the tough Hector Velasquez within six rounds after he lost his first fight against Erik Morales.
Pacquiao is coming off a close win against Juan Manuel Marquez, a fight that could have gone either way, a fight that boxing pundits thought should have been awarded to Marquez. Pacquiao’s performance against Marquez has been criticized, and who’s to say that the Pacman isn’t itching to bounce back and score an impressive win? Technically, Pacquiao didn’t lose his third fight with Marquez, but who’s to say that he won’t want to bounce back with an emphatic performance?
In his poem “The Hollow Men,” T. S. Eliot wrote, “This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper.”
On the contrary, going back to the earlier point at the beginning of this column about Pacquiao’s possible retirement, if this is indeed where the Pacman’s legendary career ends, he’d most certainly want to end it with a bang, not a whimper.
That said, be afraid for Timothy Bradley. Be very, very afraid.
the hurt business 