Arum, umaasang itutuloy ni Pacquiao ang planong pagreretiro; target na 700,000 pay-per-view nganga.
LAS VEGAS – Hindi hahadlan gan ni Bob Arum, promoter ni Manny Pacquiao, sa Top Rank sa planong pagreretiro ng eight-division world champion pagkatapos ng ‘trilogy’ fight kay American Timothy Bradley, Jr.
Sa katunayan, mismong si Arum na humimok kay Pacquiao na panindigan ang planong pagreretiro at bigyan ng atensiyon ang kanyang gawain bilang lingcod bayan sa Pilipinas.
“If he asks me, I’ll tell him to retire after this fight,” pahayag ni Arum.
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Haharapin ni Pacquiao si Bradley sa ikatlong pagkakataon sa Sabado (Linggo sa Manila), sa MGM Grand Garden Arena dito.
“One thing we don’t want to happen is as he gets older, it’s a dangerous sport and we don’t want him to suffer any brain damage. He means too much to his country and the world. So if he asks for my advice, I’d say ‘Manny Pacquiao it’s time to hang it up,” pahayag ni Arum.
Wala pang katiyakan ang lahat, sa kabila ng ilang pahiwatig ng 37-anyos na si Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 knockouts) na huling laban na umano niya si Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs). Nakatuon na ang kanyang atensiyon sa kampanya para sa gaganaping halalan sa Mayo 9 kung saan tatakbo siya sa pagka-senador.
Gayundin, alalahanin din ng kampo ni Pacman ang posibleng maging aberya sa kanyang pagreretiro dahil hanggang sa pagtatapos ng taong 2017 pa ang kontrata niya sa Top Rank.
Subalit, iginiit ni Arum, na hindi dapat problemahin ni Pacman ang kontrata dahil wala umanong obligasyon ang People’s Champion para tapusin ito.
“If he wants to retire, there’s nothing to say that he’s violated the contract. He has the absolute right to retire,” pahayag ni Arum.
Kung may dapat na problemahin si Arum, ito’y ang takilya sa magaganap na duwelo.
Inamin ni Arum na marami pang mamahalin na upuan sa MGM ang hindi nabibili dalawang araw bago ang laban, habang umaasa siyang maabot nila ang target na 700,000 pay-per-view sa HBO.
Anuman ang mangyari, siguradong tataas ang budget ng bilyonaryong si Pacman sa tatanggapin na US$20 milyon, habang si Bradley ay siguradong tatanggap ng US$4 milyon.
Ang naging pahayag ni Arum ay taliwas sa pananaw nina Hall-of-Famer trainer Freddie Roach at Justine Fortune na kapwa naniniwala na may lakas at bilis pa si Pacquiao para lumaban sa mga dekalibreng fighter tulad nina middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at sumisikat na si Terence Crawford.
Iginiit ni Roach na sinanay at hinanda niya si Pacman para manalo at walang pagkakaiba ang tema para sa laban kay Bradley.
“One thing I can be sure though is, we’ve prepared Manny as he wished he would, to win .... and win with a bang, “ pahayag ng seven-time trainer of the year.
“Over the last week, I finally am happy with what he’s doing. The last two days of sparring was really good.”
“He even dropped one of his sparring partners before we came here. We haven’t seen that in a long time. I really like where he’s at at this point,” sambit ni Roach.
“He’s looking like the Manny Pacquiao of old. One who used to sit down on his punches and fire fast and hard, knocking out the likes of Oscar DeLa Hoya, Marco Antonio Barrera, etc.,” dagdag niya.
Ngunit, malaki umano ang paniwala niya na hindi pa magreretiro ang tinaguriang “Fighter of the Decade”.
“It’s hard to retire from boxing. It’s a very addictive sport,” aniya. “Many tried to retire only to comeback.”
“I remember, it happened to me, too. I thought I was done, but I wasn’t,” paggunita ni Roach. “If Manny wants to retire, I want him to retire on a win, and that’s why we trained him to be in such great shape for this fight.”
Sinabi ni Roach na mabuting tao si Pacman, kung kaya’t deserving umano itong manalo kontra kay Bradley.
“Manny is a great man, a great fighter. No fighter I’ve ever seen trains like he does. In all the 15 years we’ve been together, his work ethic really amazed me. Whatever I asked him, he gives. He’s very generous, you know,” pahayag ni Roach.
