Manny Pacquiao may be winding down career, but still ready for war
Manny Pacquiao knows he's on the back end of his career, but he wants to make sure he's got the game completely out of his system before hanging up the gloves.
By
Brandon Wise
•
4 min read
It’s election season.
Perhaps, then, you’ll forgive Manny Pacquiao for his own brand of issue waffling.
The Filipino congressman’s Saturday night showdown with Timothy Bradley was initially framed as the final fight of a 21-year pro career. But the closer the now 37-year-old gets to the ring at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the less he sounds like a man who’s committed to moving on to another full-time job.
“The last thing I want to do is make a comeback,” Pacquiao told CBS Sports. “I want to be sure that boxing is completely out of my system when I hang up my gloves. In my mind, this could be my last fight. I want to spend more time with my family and in public service.
“I will evaluate everything after my fight with Tim Bradley. I know the end is near and Freddie (Roach) and I have trained as if this is my last fight. If this is the end of my boxing career, I want to leave the ring with a performance that will make the fans happy.”
So, there you have it. Sort of.
Pacquiao, who turned pro in 1995 -- a month after turning 16 -- hasn’t been in the ring since dropping a decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a May 2015 fight that broke all records for pay-per-view revenue and viewership.
He claimed a right shoulder injury impacted his performance that night, and spent several subsequent months rehabbing while simultaneously lobbying for a Mayweather rematch.
The chances of that were snuffed out when Mayweather announced his own retirement last September, leaving Pacquiao instead to choose a third match with Bradley -- whom he’d already fought in June 2012 and April 2014 -- over a crop of suitors that also included Terence Crawford and Amir Khan.
Bradley is 32, Khan is 29 and Crawford is 28.
As for Pacquiao, he concedes to beginning to feel the effects of advanced age.
“My training is different now that I am older,” he said.
“It took me nearly one week to recuperate from jet lag when it used to only take me a day or two. I have to allow my body to rest more between training sessions and over-training has become a new concern. I have been a boxer for a long time. It is time to begin planning for my post-boxing career.
“Resting my body between training sessions is the biggest difference. I need proper time for my body to recover. I also do not spar as many rounds now. But on fight night, I feel the same. I am 100 percent in the fight -- focused and ready. My speed, power and footwork all feel the same to me on fight night."
What won’t be the same, at least in Pacquiao’s estimation, is Bradley.
The Californian was trained by Joel Diaz for the first two meetings in his series with Pacquiao, but the teacher and student parted ways last year. Bradley was guided by veteran Teddy Atlas in his most recent fight -- a ninth-round stoppage of Brandon Rios in November -- and it’s that new component that Pacquiao believes makes his two-time foe an entirely new proposition this time around.
“Tim Bradley is a different fighter since he went with a new trainer. He's stronger and more aggressive,” he said. “No one had ever stopped Brandon Rios before and Bradley did it with a body shot. In my mind, this is not a continuation of a series but a fight against a different opponent. I think this will be an exciting fight for us and for the fans. I cannot wait."
It’s the third trilogy for Pacquiao, who lost to Erik Morales in 2005 before beating him twice in 2006. He’s fought Juan Manuel Marquez four times, including a draw in 2004, narrow decision wins in 2008 and 2011, and a sixth-round knockout loss in 2012.
He’d won three in a row after the KO -- defeating Rios, Bradley and Chris Algieri -- before the loss to Mayweather at the MGM last spring.
Wins, losses and rematches aside, he insists inspiration is never a problem.
“I am always motivated for my fights and train hard because I am competitor. It does not matter the opponent, because at this level they are all so good,” Pacquiao said. “I also want to make my country and my countrymen proud. That is what motivates me the most. Bringing glory to the Philippines.”
The latter aim wasn’t helped by non-boxing comments in February, in which Pacquiao portrayed his opposition to gay marriage by labeling homosexuals as “worse than animals.”
He lost a Nike endorsement deal and took considerable media heat as a result, but stood by the viewpoint, if not the way it was characterized.
Still, he says, if this is indeed his final fight, he’s confident his legacy is in good standing.
“I have exceeded all my wildest dreams in boxing. When I won the flyweight title I was on top of the world. Now I have added world titles in seven more weight divisions. I am very proud of that achievement,” he said. “I am secure with what I have achieved in boxing and my record speaks for me. I will leave it to others -- the fans and the historians -- to decide my place in boxing.
“My proudest accomplishment is that I brought pride and global attention to the Philippines.”
