RingSide Report

World News, Social Issues, Politics, Entertainment and Sports

What Is Going On With Manny Pacquiao?

By Tyler “The Miracle Man” White

A year after his defeat to the Australian underdog, Jeff Horn, Manny Pacquiao has decided to get back in the ring with a very live and dangerous opponent in Lucas Matthysse.

Now at 39 years of age, Pacquiao’s best days are far behind him and that’s no surprise seeing as he’s juggling life as a professional boxer as well as that of a Senator of the Philippines!

This begs the question of why…

Why is Manny Pacquiao still trying to capture World titles and his former ability inside the ring? Why is he trying to do this whilst also trying to establish a career in the world of politics?
Can he not just pick one or the other?

Alongside the surprising news that Pacquiao will be fighting Matthysse on 15th July, it’s also a shock to hear that Pacquiao will not be asking Freddie Roach to train him for this contest.

The pair has been working together ever since Pacquiao’s U.S. debut in 2001, however, after Roach having previously called for Pacquiao to retire, maybe the Philippine man doesn’t feel that Roach would be fully supportive of this upcoming World title pursuit.

After looking at photo’s and videos of the recent press conference, Pacquiao is looking a lot older and heavier, indicating to me that he’s probably allowed training to take a back seat, with his role as Senator taking precedence over his two careers. I am sure that Matthysse and his team will have already identified this too, giving them extra confidence and belief that they can beat the former Pound-for-Pound kingpin.

Part of me believes that Pacquiao is fighting again because he – like many other fighters before him – cannot let go of the sport, or because it may give a boost to his popularity again in the Philippines. Maybe I’m wrong on both accounts and it’s actually a bit of a mid-life crisis as he tries to regain his former dominance, or maybe it’s as simple as the fact that he just enjoys fighting…

Whatever the reason is for this fight and whatever his reasons for not training with Freddie Roach for it are, I hope that Manny hangs the gloves up sooner rather than later. There’s nothing worse than seeing a fighter go on for too long, especially someone like Pacquiao after all of the phenomenal successes that he has had in his inspirational career.

In the meantime, all we can do is wonder, anticipate and hope that Pacquiao is able to focus fully on his preparation for this fight as I can see it being one of his hardest to date, especially if he’s not been ticking over in the gym since his defeat to Jeff Horn in 2017!

Once you’ve achieved the highs and the successes that someone like Manny Pacquiao has, it must be very hard to let go, but after this one, I’d love to see Manny retire, enjoy his achievements and continue to build a successful career in the Philippines, the place where I believe his true passion now really lies.

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