By James Slater – Today, the day of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao’s 32nd birthday, was supposed to be a day on which Pac-Man and his promoter Bob Arum would reveal who will be in the opposing corner to the megastar on May 7th.
The date has been made official, but we still await the venue (although Boxrec have the fight taking place at The MGM in Vegas) and, more crucially, the opponent. Arum said today that the announcement that was originally planned for today will come in the next week or so. However, in an interview with ABC-CBN’s TV Patrol, Pacquiao did say he feels he will probably have a further two or three fights before hanging up the gloves and going into politics, his other love, full-time..
“I can still do it,” Pacquiao said. “If I’m beginning to feel something bad, I’ll stop boxing. I think I’m still good for two or three more fights.”
And certainly, as good as Pacquiao looked last time out, when landing a ton of hard and fast punches for the full 12 rounds against the much bigger Antonio Margarito, Pac-Man is indeed “still good.” 32 used to be a considerable age for a boxer, especially a lower weight fighter. But for a fighter as dedicated to training as Pac-Man is, 32 is by no means an age for retirement.
And Pac-Man’s next fight in May, though still to be officially announced, looks like being against a fighter who SHOULD be thinking about retiring: 39-year-old “Sugar” Shane Mosley. This fight, if it does happen (and some experts are convinced it will), will almost certainly be a winning fight for Pac-Man; and a relatively easy win at that.
If Pac-Man does have just one or two more after taking care of business in May, many fans will no doubt lament the fact that the superstar wasted what precious little ring time he had left by taking a fight with Mosley. Okay, Pacquiao’s legacy is already set in stone, but a couple more big wins over truly meaningful opponents wouldn’t hurt. Pac-Man will earn few points for beating up the faded Mosley.
Hopefully, after he’s become the first man to stop “Sugar,” Pacquiao will spend his final time in the ring taking on the best available opposition. Andre Berto would make a good choice for next year, while a fight with middleweight king Sergio Martinez (at a catch-weight, naturally) would be a monstrous occasion. And as to what a win over “Maravilla” would do for Pacquiao….!