The name Manny Pacquiao is synonymous with professional boxing. The 40 year old multi-divisional champion will go down as one of the greatest of all time. But the question on everyone’s mind, fight after fight, always seems to be “How much longer can he go on?”
It’s the question that drives the sport and pushes it forward. The build up to a fight peaks your interest, the press conference and weigh-in wets your pallet and the fight itself is the big pay off. Then, almost immediately afterwards, we start asking ourselves that question again, like some kind of combat sports junkie.
Having turned 40 and now officially “over the hill” Manny Pacquiao certainly shows no signs of hanging up the gloves just yet. In fact, the past five years have been incredibly busy for Pacquiao. We finally got the “The Fight of the Century” with Floyd Mayweather in May of 2015, then he went on to win two more titles before defeating a very tough Adrian Broner in January of this year.
In my opinion, when combat sports are promoted well, the story never ends. You just turn the page and start writing the next chapter. For Manny Pacquiao, the next chapter is a twelve round WBA Super Welterweight Title fight with Keith Thurman on July 20th. “One Time” is undefeated through twenty-nine fights since his pro debut in November 2007, when Pacquiao had already been fighting for twelve years. Much like his rival, Thruman’s last fight came in January of 2019, but that was a comeback fight after a two year layoff. So, now is the big test for the returning Thurman.
Recently Pacquiao voiced his opinion on what he thinks will happen in the fight saying “This fight will not last 12 rounds. That’s what I can say”. But that’s exactly what has happened in the last three Thurman fights, going back to June of 2016. As the event date gets closer, sites like this online betting outlet will have updated odds and news for the match. A Pacquiao loss will of course mean fans calling for his retirement again, so this is definitely a match to follow. Before going tuning in on the 20th, take a look at what the match previews are saying about the senator.
However, even if Manny does not live up to his prediction of an early stoppage and even if he does not get his hand raised at the end of the night, I don’t think we’ve seen the end of the Pac-Man. It’s just time to turn the page and write the next chapter. Whether that’s another fight or whether that’s turning his attention full time to politics or something different, Pacquiao has nothing left to prove in the sport, except maybe to himself.
For now, let that high hit you once again. Feel the anticipation wash over you, take a deep breath in and enjoy the fight. Then exhale and we’ll see what’s next. Enjoy the fight.
- Daniel Austin
daniel.austin@spiintl.com
