5 Reasons Why This Will Be Pac-Man’s Last Fight

It goes without saying that Manny Pacquiao has had quite the career, although we’re going to say it anyway. Fights against Mayweather, Broner, Marquez, Cotto, Hatton… the list goes on. He’s now been matched up against Keith Thurman, the hard-hitter from USA. Whilst we think that any money spent betting on Pacquiao would be safe, there are a multitude of reasons that, win, lose or draw this should be Manny’s final fight.

We’ve listed the top 5 reasons why Pac-Man should hang up his gloves and close the book on his career following his fight with Thurman:

Age

So this one should go without saying, old father time catches up with us all and for a boxer this is even truer. The longer a career goes on, you tend to start losing chunks of what made you a good boxer.

It usually starts with the speed, for boxers speed is really important. Mike Tyson once said “power is good but speed kills” and it’s been shown, time and time again to be true. Once the speed drops off you can be vulnerable.

Another factor which doesn’t tend to be mentioned is that with age, boxers start becoming more fragile and a once-granite chin can turn into dust.

Injuries

Manny, similar to many boxers, has certainly had his fair share of injuries. A reported detached retina in his last fight was a worry but those fears were calmed by his trainer.

The problem with injuries the later you go in your career, is that the body can only take so much and keep going. Muscle injuries for boxers in the shoulders and arms seem to start signalling the end, exactly what Pacquiao had during his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Opponents

Once upon a time there were a plethora of potential opponents available to Manny, though through his long career he’s since faced all of them. Looking at the state of the division now, there aren’t many fights that would inspire much attention… for that reason alone it’s tough to see where he goes next, if not retirement.

Politics

This is relevant in two ways. The first: Pacquiao has been active in politics in the Philippines for quite some time now, and with many expecting each fight he has to be his last, he keeps going against this and taking on other fights.

It’s also relevant when you look at the politics in boxing. Should Pac-Man lose against Thurman, he will have barely anywhere to go. People will only want to risk fighting him if there’s something to gain and there won’t be with a loss.

Legacy

Up until now Pacquiao has built a really great legacy through winning and taking part in some of the biggest fights boxing fans have ever seen. More recently, he soured his legacy somewhat with a loss to relative unknown Australian boxer Jeff Horn over twelve rounds.

Don’t get it twisted, he’s a deserved Hall of Famer up until this point; however, a few more losses to questionable opponents will see fans start asking if he’s really worthy of it and they would have a point.