Manny Pacquiao’s camp said they might hale a local expert to court for saying that the Filipino ring icon could be suffering from early stages of a debilitating nerve and brain disorder.
Michael Koncz, who is adviser to Pacquiao, said they might file charges against Dr Rustico Jimenez, for suggesting that the boxer could be showing signs of having Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimers’ disorder.
Koncz said it was uncalled for Dr Jimenez to give a prognosis on Pacquiao’s condition merely “based on speculation.”
“I am not aware that this alleged doctor ever examined Manny yet he makes such a diagnoses,” Koncz was quoted as saying by ABS-CBN News in a text massage.
Earlier, Dr Jimenez, who is president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines opined that Pacquiao, 34, should retire from boxing following the latter’s defeat to Mexican ring rival Juan Manuel Marquez last December.
Pacquiao was knocked unconscious by a single punch from Marquez during the sixth-round of a 12-round match.
Jimenez also noted possible indications of Parkinson’s Disease during a television interview Pacquiao gave following the match.
Separately, Pacquiao’s fight promoter Bob Arum, said that to end speculations on the condition of the fighter, the latter will be subjected to a battery of tests to determine his fitness.
Immediately after Pacquiao’s defeat, there had been calls for another match with Marquez.
There had been calls
“This should clear the air,” Arum was quoted as saying by the daily Manila Bulletin.
Parkinson’s Disease is a disorder involving the brain and affects functions such as walking and muscle coordination. Its most notable indication are tremors and shaking.
Among those susceptible to this disorder are boxers because of the punishment their head are subjected during fights.
Experts said Pacquiao does not have to look far to determine how Parkinson’s Disease affects a sufferer, his American trainer, Freddie Roach, also a former boxer, is a known to suffer from it.
Aside from Roach, another noted Parkinson’s Disease sufferer is former heavyweight champion Mohammad Ali.
Pacquiao had been fighting in the ring professionally for nearly two decades.
Years of throwing punches and taking a battering in the boxing ring had earned billions of pesos for the Filipino ring icon who is now a member of the House of Representatives.
