10 reasons WHY Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao should NOT retire

Ever since Manny Pacquiao suffered a sixth-round knock out at the hands of Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez in a world welterweight bout on Saturday, there have been concerns whether the Filipino superstar should hang up his gloves.

Philippines were stunned into silence after their boxing hero remained motionless lying face down on the canvas for several agonising minutes after walking into a thundering right from Marquez with just one second remaining in the round.

His wife Jinkee and mother Dionisia shocked by his stunning loss have led the calls for the former eight-division world champion to walk away from the sport.

There are more than 10 reasons why he should retire.

But since some of his ardent boxing fans want to see him continue fighting, Emirates 24|7 gives 10 reasons why he should not retire.

1. The Filipino southpaw has made it clear he would be back to compete after taking a well-earned break. "To all my fans, I would like to thank you for your prayers and assure you that I am fine," Pacquiao said in a statement just hours after his stunning defeat in front of a sellout crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

2. Asked to assess what had happened to Pacquiao, who had been leading 47-46 on all three judges' cards when the stoppage came, his coach Freddy Roach replied: "I thought Manny was having a good fight. He ran into a good one. I thought we almost had him. Manny got a little careless and then he ran into that punch. He fought a very smart opponent. It sucks. I hate to lose."

3. The Filipino was also knocked down in the third round but fears of a possible concussion were put to rest after a precautionary CT (computed tomography) scan at nearby University Medical Center hospital after the fight ended.
"The results were negative," said Michael Koncz, Pacquiao's advisor. "We were in and out in just over an hour and Manny was in excellent spirits."

4. Before leaving the arena, Pacquiao suggested he would be keen to take on Marquez for a fifth time. Pacuiao won two controversial points while one match ended in a draw. When Pacquiao was floored in the third round, it was the first time in 39 rounds that Marquez had knocked him down.

5. Shrugging off calls for his retirement by his family members, Pacquiao said: "I don't want to hurt my family and the people who support them," was all he would say about his future plans. I am OK. I just got overconfident in this fight. That is part of the game - sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."

6. "He shouldn't retire. He has to recover and redeem himself. Then he can retire," Roel Velasco, a bronze medallist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, told the Manila Bulletin.

7. London-based Boxing News blogger Daniel Welling questioned whether Pacquiao should find a better way to bid boxing goodbye. "It would be a huge shame if one of the greatest fighters of the modern era ends his career face down on the mat," he wrote.

8. "Marquez is a true champion, Manny Pacquiao is a true champion. Both of them went out there and put on a good performance and that's a good thing for the sport of boxing," the undefeated welterweight and super welterweight champion said. "I wish Pacquiao nothing but the best. I wish that he can bounce back and recoup from this.

9. The biggest tribute that Pacquiao is still pound-for-pound one of the best fighters in the world came from Floyd Mayweather Jr who praised the performance of both boxers. "Marquez is a true champion, Manny Pacquiao is a true champion. Both of them went out there and put on a good performance and that's a good thing for the sport of boxing," said the undefeated welterweight and super welterweight champion said.

10. The most compelling reason why Pacquaio does not want to retire is because he is waiting for the dream mega match with Mayweather Jr who told fighthype.com in an interview on Monday: "The only thing he can do is rejuvenate himself and bounce back like a true champion."

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