By James Slater – Superstar Manny Pacquiao was a guest on radio station DZMM recently, and what he had to say whilst being interviewed has been picked up by a number of boxing web sites. The 33-year-old all-time great said that in a dream he had, God told him to quit the ring.
“I will not stay long in boxing because he [God] said: ‘You have done enough. You have made yourself famous but this is harmful.’”
Pacquiao went on to add that he made the decision to give up all his vices due to the powerful dream. Pac-Man also said that he will be making a big announcement regarding his religious duties soon.
So, how long have we got left to enjoy the reigning WBO welterweight king? Next up is Tim Bradley, and Pacquiao has hinted before that the June fight could well be his last. But then, in another interview, Pac-Man said he still loves boxing and may stick around for a few more.. If this latest interview is anything to go by, however, it doesn’t look like we will see too much more ring activity. Which of course means we will probably never get to see a Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Junior super-fight.
In his heart of hearts, Pacquiao feels he has done enough in boxing and that he doesn’t need to defeat “Money” to prove himself. This is the opinion of a good many people, anyway. But how will history remember Pacquiao, and Mayweather, if they do not face one another? Which fighter of the two will “get the blame” for the important, era-defining match-up not taking place?
Let’s see how Pacquiao does against Bradley. I have a feeling that if Pac-Man scores a quick, relatively easy-looking KO win over “Desert Storm” he will have at least one more fight. If, however, the 33-year-old HAS slowed down significantly (as some fans and experts said was the case after his razor-thin decision victory over Juan Manuel Marquez in their third meeting) and if he has a real war on his hands in Las Vegas, that retirement speech could be forthcoming.