Pacman may switch to political ring
Coach says Filipino could retire after Clottey bout to focus on public service
New York: Manny Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, delivered this knee-buckling assessment for boxing fans already distraught by the failed Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr negotiations.
"This could be our last fight," Roach said last week, as Pacquiao heads into the final days of training for his March 13 welterweight world title bout against Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas.
Roach's sobering speculation about boxing's biggest star is based on a chain of events that could occur. Pacquiao, 31, is running for a congressional seat in his native Philippines. If elected in May, he'll represent a community of about 400,000 people in need of improved health care, education and employment that the boxer himself was deprived of while being raised in poverty. "I can see the help people need because I've been in that place," Pacquiao said.
"They're poor, suffering, and needing help from the government. I know what they feel."
His public-service duties will be tremendous, the boxer and his closest advisors know, and his election is more realistic than it was when he failed to win a national seat a few years ago. Pacquiao, recently selected fighter of the decade, has won 11 consecutive fights against the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto and Juan Manuel Marquez.
If he beats Clottey as expected, and if Mayweather defeats Shane Mosley on May 1, negotiations for a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout are likely to resume.
"I've talked to Manny about this. And if Mayweather doesn't come back to the table in a mood to negotiate, the public demand won't be there for any other fight," Roach said.
"So if Manny wins the election and likes politics, this [Clottey fight] could be it. And I have no problem with that. I don't want Manny to be one of those guys who stays too long. It's better to go out on top.
"That's my goal for him, and I've told him, ‘Don't do it like everyone else in the world'." Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) has fought only six fewer bouts than Mohammad Ali, and has boxed the same number of rounds (305) that "Sugar" Ray Leonard had when he retired.
Roach also serves as a reminder of the perils of an overextended boxing career, as he battles the effects of pugilistic Parkinson's syndrome. Before a recent workout at Roach's Wild Card gym in Hollywood, Pacquiao expressed enthusiasm to fight Mayweather but noted the uncertainty over his future.
