Will Manny’s journey lead to Senate?

MANILA, Philippines - Newly reinstalled WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao recently put a time frame of two years before contemplating retirement from boxing but even as his legacy as a Hall of Famer is secure, the drive to achieve more in the ring appears undiminished with the added goal of moving to the Senate from Congress in 2016.

After regaining the 147-pound title from Timothy Bradley in convincing fashion in Las Vegas two weeks ago, Pacquiao said, “I can fight two more years (and) I’m so happy to be a world champion again.”  He’s not choosing opponents.  It could be Juan Manuel Marquez next if the Mexican overcomes Mike Alvarado in Los Angeles on May 17 or Alvarado if he beats Marquez or Floyd Mayweather Jr. if he’s bold enough to put his undefeated record on the line against the only man in the welterweight division with a chance to taint it.

Pacquiao, 35, said his journey continues.  He didn’t specify the nature of the journey or a destination but Greg Bishop of SI.com wrote, “(it) means in boxing and in politics where Pacquiao says he is 80 percent sure to run for the Senate when his term as Congressman expires in 2016.”  If the Senate is where Pacquiao’s political journey is headed, the Hall of Fame is where his sports odyssey will inevitably end.

There is no doubt Pacquiao will wind up in the International Boxing Hall of Fame where only three other Filipinos are enshrined – Pancho Villa, Flash Elorde and promoter Lope (Papa) Sarreal, Sr. – in Canastota, New York.  It won’t matter how Pacquiao performs from now until he hangs up his gloves.  No man in boxing history has captured eight world titles in different divisions and for that reason alone, Pacquiao is a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame.

“Pacquiao has won major titles in a record eight of 17 weight classes,” said ringtv.craveonline.com.  â€œNo one can take that remarkable feat from him.  The bottom line is that Pacquiao has been one of the greatest fighters of his generation, perhaps second only to Mayweather. Nothing is going to change that.”

But even if the Hall of Fame awaits Pacquiao, his mission can’t be complete without arranging the duel with Mayweather.  It’s what keeps Pacquiao going – the lure of earning the biggest paycheck in his career and settling the debate as to who’s the superior fighter.  For sure, a Mayweather fight will mean at least a $50 Million deposit in Pacquiao’s bank account.  That should set him up for life and settle whatever obligations are outstanding with the IRS and BIR.

Pacquiao was once the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter but that was when Mayweather went on a self-imposed hiatus.  Now, Mayweather is back on the throne and Pacquiao is a few notches below the ladder.  

“If we can’t fight, maybe we can play basketball against each other, one-on-one,” joked Pacquiao in an interview with Gareth Davies.  

The Ring Magazine’s Norm Frauenheim said a more mature Pacquiao will make adjustments to suit his race against time. “That indiscriminate clock might dictate a Pacquiao yet unseen,” he wrote.  â€œA re-invented Manny.  That’s a version which might be a little bit more calculating and a little less instinctive. It might be more of the Pacquiao we saw against (Brandon) Rios than the one we remember against (Oscar) de la Hoya. That Pacquiao might not win over pay-per-view customers but it could save him for a big-money showdown against Mayweather at the end of Mayweather’s Showtime contract in September 2015. Reinvention is a hedge against aging. It’s not new.  But not everybody can pull it off either.”

Freddie Roach said in his 19th year as a pro, Pacquiao “tones down the amount of his running as well as his hill-humping, instead, it’s specialized exercises on a track for explosiveness and stability in the legs.”  Despite the passage of time, Roach said Pacquiao is still very motivated to push himself to the limit in training with the same unflinching dedication as when he was younger.