Jinkee planning to ask Manny to retire from boxing after loss

Jinkee Pacquiao is planning to convince her husband, Senator Manny Pacquiao, to finally retire from boxing after losing to Australian fighter Jeff Horn.

The two boxers faced off at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Sunday, which saw Horn winning by unanimous decision.

Judges scored the bout 117-111, 115-113, 115-113, all in favor of Horn, giving the Australian boxer the WBO welterweight title – the first world championship of his young professional career.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News after the match, Jinkee acknowledged that her husband is no longer getting any younger.

“Yun lang siguro ang ipapakiusap namin sa kanya. Mas magiging happy ako at si Mommy D and, of course, 'yung mga anak ko,” she said.

According to Jinkee, she got worried when she saw that Pacquiao already had cuts in the face.

“Doon ako kinabahan na baka mahinto yung fight. ‘Di ba usually kapag ganoon, natatalo 'yung boxer. Hinihinto na nila tapos winner na 'yung kalaban,” she said. “Nung na-headbutt na siya, doon ako natakot kasi ayaw kong nakikita siyang duguan.”

Nonetheless, Jinkee thought the Pacquiao-Horn match was a very close fight.

“Malakas din kasi si Horn. Pero si Manny, pinakita pa rin niya ang kanyang lakas at bilis,” she said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Arum doesn't believe Pacquiao is retiring

Boxing promoter Bob Arum admitted that he is not totally convinced that Manny Pacquiao will be hanging his gloves for good after the Timothy Bradley fight this April.

“I can't come to grips with the feeling that this is his last fight,” Arum said in Boxing Scene. “Maybe he will retire. But I'm not gonna lose sleep on it.”

Why the skepticism? Arum noted that it is common for boxers to change their minds after taking a hiatus from the fight game, citing “Sugar” Ray Leonard, George Foreman, Antonio Margarito and even Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“Brandon Rios retired after his last fight [with Bradley]... and unretired half an hour later. Some of these fighters, they retire when they have one wife, and when they get another one, they un-retire,” he said.

Pacquiao has a different reason for retiring, however.


The boxing superstar and congressman is set on pursuing a political career and is running for senator in the May elections.

“If his first thing is gonna be politics then he has to do that as well if not better than he did as a boxer,” Arum said in a separate interview with Boxing Scene Radio Rahim. “If a political career will interfere with him boxing in the future, so be it... he has to look as to what he's gonna do for the rest of his life.”

“When he told me that this was gonna be his last fight, I took that with a grain of salt. But if it is his last fight, I'll acknowledge what a great ride it has been.”

But Arum said there are two things that could affect change Pacquiao’s mind about his imminent retirement. One is a stellar performance against Bradley; and two is the possibility of Mayweather coming out of retirement.

Nostalgia

The boxing promoter admitted that he could not help but get emotional about his friendship with Pacquiao.

What made the Filipino boxer so special, he said, is Pacquiao’s rise to superstardom in the US despite being a non-American.

“Think of where he came from,” explained Arum. “He was as obscure as you can get, a little guy, coming from half-way around the world. It is a tribute to him, but it is almost a bigger tribute to this country (the US), which accepted him, even embraced him. He couldn't speak English.

"If he had been Hispanic, or African-American, he might have had a leg up. But he wasn't.”

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pacquiao not thinking about retirement

MANILA, Philippines – After proving that he can still compete at a high level in an impressive display against Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios, Filipino boxing superstar Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao is not thinking about hanging up his gloves.

Prior to Sunday's fight, Hall-of-Fame trainer Freddie Roach had said he will advise Pacquiao to retire should he wind up losing.

The Pacman’s performance proved that he still has plenty left in the tank.

“Hindi pa po,” Pacquiao answered when asked by ANC’s Karen Davila if he is planning on retiring soon. “Katulad ng sinabi ko, kaya ko pa naman. Nage-enjoy pa ako.”

Pacquiao said he is proud to have once again brought honor to the country, which for him is more important than the $18 million he was guaranteed to earn against Rios.

“Hindi naman ang mahalaga lang ay ‘yung purse natin,” said Pacquiao. “Ang importante, nakapagbigay ako ng karangalan sa bansa.”

“Habit na ba, na makapagbigay ng karangalan sa buong bansa, makita mo na masaya ‘yung mga tao,” he added. “Isa ‘yung malaking karangalan para sa akin.”

Pacquiao said he was satisfied with his performance against Rios, especially as he was coming off a two-fight losing streak, as well as the longest lay-off of his career, having last stepped inside the ring on December 2012.

“Happy naman ako, kasi one year na hindi ako nakalaban, eh hindi pa rin nawala ‘yung galaw natin,” he said. “Nand’yan pa rin ‘yung galaw natin, at ‘yung nasabi ko nga na kaya ko pa.”

Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, has scheduled the Filipino’s return fight for April 2014, although they have yet to decide on an opponent.

“Hindi ko pa alam kung sino ang kalaban,” said Pacquiao. “Magu-usap pa kami ni Bob Arum.”

Pacquiao is expected to arrive home in General Santos City on Monday afternoon. He has made plans to visit and hand out relief goods to the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com