What’s stopping Pacquiao from retiring?

By Al S. Mendoza

LET us not belabor the issue.

Manny Pacquiao should retire. Now.

For him, there’s nothing more to prove.

He’s got everything: FF.  That’s fame and fortune.

It’s not just fame by any yardstick of standards.

You own eight world crowns, what’s that but boxing gluttony.

Some are happy with just one world title.

Pacquiao’s unhappy with eight belts?

Mother Teresa can live the poor of India now.

And what’s this I heard Pacquiao plans to go for a ninth world crown?

Quick, call in the marines!

He must be stopped at all cost!

Didn’t Freddie Roach himself swear Pacquiao will no longer fight beyond 147 lb after the Margarito bout (154 lb)?

I can believe Roach.

Himself a victim of boxing’s inherent risks – head bombardment could cause Parkinson’s Disease – Roach, a former boxer, now suffers from Parkinson’s.

That’s the same illness that Muhammad Ali now suffers from.

Do we also want Pacquiao to contract that disease?

Pacquiao has fought 57 professional bouts now since he was 16.  Easily, that translates to about 5,000 head punches to Pacquiao’s head already.

The last one alone with Margarito saw him terribly absorb jarring blows.

The 148-lb Pacquiao admitted it so himself: He was hurt by the bigger, heavier Margarito (165 lb).

JInkee, Pacquiao’s wife, also said Pacquiao had blood for urine after the fight.  That’s usually normal among boxers.  But if it happens all the time, a boxer’s kidney or liver could be at great risk of absorbing permanent damage.

And, yes, fortune.

Money-wise, Pacquiao can live five lifetimes awash in cash.

In the Margarito fight alone, he earned no less than one billion pesos.

What about his previous fights with De La Hoya, Hatton, Cotto and several others?

Pacquiao is a billionaire and he still wants to fight?

That’s greed, the third of the seven deadly sins.

Somebody close to him ought to remind him that.

And you know what?

He’s got power, too.  He is congressman of Sarangani Province.

As they say, some with wealth lack one more thing in life:  Power.

So, the filthy rich go to politics for power.

I call that ego massage, too.

But, actually, for the rich going to politics, they also sideswipe more wealth along the way.

In politics, money’s a collateral perk.

Money begets money.

The poor can enter politics but they can hardly win.

But the rich cruise into politics and easily win.  You know the reason of course: Money.

Why Pacquiao isn’t quitting boxing – “three more years,” he said – doesn’t surprise me anymore.

Man’s lust for more is, by nature, insatiable.

Instead of quitting at the top of his game, Pacquiao won’t, will never listen.

Addiction kills.

Sadly, the addict rejects any hint of mortality.

Back to Homepage

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments