Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao cried on television earlier today. He claims he let his country down when he was knocked out by his great Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez.
"The low morale, the sadness, I accept that. This is my job…. But the reaction of the Filipinos, the many who cried, especially my family, it really hurts me," he said in an interview on the GMA network.
For those of you that missed the fight, well, you didn't miss much. As hyped as the fight was, there's been a handful of articles debating the need for Pacquiao to retire. Several days after the fight, both his wife and mother appealed on television for Pacquiao to retire.
So the question begs: When is it a good time to retire? This question just doesn't apply to professional boxers. It's applicable to many other sports such as football, basketball and yes, even bodybuilding.
We'll explore this in depth in future articles. Suffice it to say some professional bodybuilders feel compelled to return every year. Just like Pacquiao, there are money incentives from sponsors and prize money.
However, back to Pacquiao. He's older now. He has obligations as a game show host, a politician, a spokesman for several products and he's a Bible preacher. It doesn't seem to me he has the time to concentrate on boxing like he should. For us boxing fans, maybe it's better he drop all the ancilliary stuff and concentrate on boxing.
