But right after his announcement, a resounding chorus ensued asking Pacquiao to reconsider his decision to end his 21-year boxing career.
Aside from Pacquiao’s longtime trainer Freddie Roach, who wants Pacquiao to face Floyd Mayweather for the second time, other boxing experts including his three-time foe Bradley want Pacquiao to continue fighting.
“No, Manny Pacquiao shouldn’t retire,” Bradley said after the fight.
Bradley admitted Pacquiao was at his best Saturday night.
“I did everything I can to get him to come to me. Jab, get out, jab, get out but he was just smart tonight. He was just super smart. He knew where I was going to be at,” he said.
Bradley knew Pacquaio has anticipated his moves and he was playing smart during the fight.
“Manny was luring me in. He was waiting for me to commit to lunging so he could counter me. He was picking his spots. He was waiting on me,” Bradley said.
For his part Roach said he likes Pacquiao’s aggressiveness during the fight as he stalked Bradley all throughout the fight.
“It wasn’t a complete comeback for Manny Pacquiao but it was a good first step,” Roach said. “But I liked what he did. He was aggressive, he went after his opponent and he did what he was supposed to do.”
“It’s a difficult sport to quit. It’s not easy to retire. He hasn’t realized it yet but he’s going to find out,” he added.
In Cebu City, Philippines where Pacquiao has tremendous following, Cebu Daily News Inquirer gathered comments from fans and observers from different parts of the city as they voiced their opinion on Pacquiao’s retirement. View their comments here.
In the case of Pacquiao’s longtime promoter Bob Arum, he said Pacquiao could be lured back to the ring after a brief retirement once he runs out of funds to support his advocacy back home.
“He doesn’t have money problems now, but of course he’s going to have money problems if he’s going to be building hospitals out of his own pocket instead of letting the [Philippines] government build the hospitals,” Arum said.
It is likely Pacquiao will stay retired for the rest of the year but having boxing for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past 21 years, it won’t be easy for Pacquiao to resist the temptation of coming back as Roach had stated.
But more than the itch of returning to the sports that he loves best, Pacquiao has an unfinished business with Floyd Mayweather and the financial considerations attached to a possible rematch is still mind-boggling and as Arum said, Pacquiao would need sizable amount to fund his charitable projects back home.
Win or lose in the upcoming general elections in the Philippines where Pacquiao is seeking a senate seat and with or without Maysweather for his next opponent, it won’t surprise Arum, Roach and the fans to see Pacquiao in his first comeback fight early next year.
