Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao’s trainer has advised the Filipino legend to quit boxing, after his sensational defeat by unheralded Australian Jeff Horn.
While controversy raged over the scoring of Sunday’s World Boxing Organisation welterweight title bout in Brisbane, after all three judges awarded it to the unbeaten Horn, there were doubts, on Monday, whether 38-year-old Pacquiao would want a re-match.
His trainer Freddie Roach said he would consider advising Pacquiao to retire after a glittering 22-year professional career in which the Filipino won world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions.
“I’m going to talk to Manny about maybe calling it a day, maybe this is it,” he said.
On Sunday, the 29-year-old Horn’s ultra-aggressive style rocked Pacquiao, with the three judges scoring the fight 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113 to the Australian, before 51,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium.
Pacquiao (59-7-2) insisted he would “absolutely” return for a rematch in Brisbane – a clause in his contract for the fight
But Australian boxing great and three-time world champion Jeff Fenech also called for the Filipino, who retired briefly last year, to hang up his gloves for good.
“If they let Manny fight again, that’s stupid,” Fenech said. “He should go relax and enjoy the money he has made. He’s got nothing to prove. Retire.
“Jeff fought the right fight and took Manny to places he’d not been before… he made it a bit dirty.”
A sense of Pacquiao’s declining powers is that he has not stopped an opponent in eight years.
Roach, however, called for an investigation into the scoring of American judge Waleska Roldan.
She had the bout 117-111 to Horn, giving Pacquiao only three of the 12 rounds despite Horn finishing badly bruised and with a shut right eye.
According to CompuBox statistics, Pacquiao landed almost twice as many punches as Horn – 182 to 92.
Judges American Chris Flores and Argentinian Ramon Cerdan both thought it was closer, but gave Horn the fight 115-113.
“I respect the judges’ decision,” Pacquiao said. “He was much tougher than I expected. Much, much tougher.”
Horn, whose career record improved to 17-0-1, yesterday brushed aside the outcry against his shock victory.
“There’s always going to be the backlash where people are going to say I’m lucky, or whatever,” he said. “I think I won the fight, a lot of Queenslanders think I won the fight and people around the world.”