Manila: Seven-times world champion Manny Pacquiao is thinking of retiring from the ring, a TV report said. In an interview with Channel 7, Pacquiao said: "Let's wait and see if I will still fight or not".
The boxer added: "My mother [Dionisia] told me that I should retire now. She said she felt bad during my fight [with Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas].
"I think I can still fight," explained Pacquiao, without answering when asked if boxing promoter Bob Arum would choose Floyd Mayweather as the next opponent. Last Saturday, Pacquiao stopped Cotto in the 12th round and became WBO welterweight champion.
Is fear hounding the world's historical overachiever? Before Pacquiao won in Las Vegas, a compatriot, Z Gorres, collapsed after he won a fight there. He was Pacquiao's protégé.
Gorres is responding to medication, but what happened to him has reminded Pacquiao about the dangers of boxing.
Earlier, Pacquiao told reporters how he had witnessed fellow boxer and friend Eugene Barutag die while fighting for a title in Manila. He was at the wake for days. Pacquiao and Barutag had left General Santos in the southern Philippines together in search of boxing fame in Manila.
He almost did not pursue boxing because of Eugene's fate.
Pacquiao's "master trainer", Freddie Roach, has reportedly told Pacquiao to retire while he is still strong. Roach is suffering from Parkinson's disease, decidedly a boxing victim, too.
No, Pacquiao would not turn to singing, although he held a concert with some professional singers after his bout with Cotto.
Politics is in his blood. When he arrives in Manila tomorrow, he is expected to file his candidacy for a seat at the House of Representatives in the 2010 elections.
