Over the last few weeks, reports from the training camp of Manny Pacquiao have been mixed to say the least. At times Pacquiao appears to be impressing with his work ethic and rapid progress, at others he is reported to be struggling in sparring and having trouble with his motivation.
Only yesterday, trainer Freddie Roach hinted that Pacquiao would be retiring from the sport in the near future to concentrate on his political duties, and that he doesn't have the same kind of passion for boxing that he once did. Talking to the BBC world service, who are putting together a documentary on the highly decorated fighter, Roach said:
"We are going to lose Manny Pacquiao to politics, for sure"
"After the first couple of days of training Manny came up to me and said 'I miss my job', and I said 'you're at your job', and he said 'no, I miss Congress'."
Immediately, discussion amongst fans began over whether this would be Pacquiao's last fight, whether he is losing interest and whether, as a result, Margarito has a good chance of an upset.
Many of those fans though must have a short memory.
Before Pacquiao's recent fights with both Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey, sources within his camp hinted that he was considering retirement and that each could be his last fight. The reason given then was that his mother wanted him to retire, now it is that his political duties are causing him to lose interest.
Similarly, Manny said that he would fight only once more after being elected as a congressman. He has also said the same thing before though, stating before the Clottey fight that his mother had given her blessing for him to fight once more. So in that regard, it appears that nothing is set in stone.
Pacquiao himself has yet to comment on what his trainer said, and the fact that all these revelations about his struggles in training and possible impending retirement are coming before he fights an opponent very few perceive as a real challenge can't be ignored.
Clearly, from the undercard Top Rank have added to the card, there were concerns that the fight might not sell as well as he would like. The solution? Simply make the main event appear to be a lot closer than it probably will be, which in this case meant reports that Pacquiao was struggling or unmotivated.
Roach's recent comments were also in stark contrast to those of Bob Arum, who talking to Michael Marley only last week was happy to reel off a shortlist of Pacquiao's potential next opponents for the new year. In the same interview he also mentioned that Pacquiao would be sticking to welterweight in the future, and that he would be fighting twice in the new year.
Which doesn't sound much like a fighter on the verge of walking away from the sport. Neither does it sound like a fighter that his promoter is concerned will lose his next fight.
If this is the case, why the hard sell from Arum and Roach?
When Margarito was first announced as an opponent for Pacquiao, across the board the feeling was that the fight would be an easy one for Pacquiao. Margarito hadn't performed well in his last couple of fights, and even at his best has the kind of sluggish movement and slow starting that fighters like Pacquiao are great at exploiting.
Even now, after the mixed reports from Pacquiao's camp the odds for the fight are as long as they ever were, and the expected result according to the bookmakers is a knockout win for Pacquiao in under ten rounds. A result not pegged as the most likely outcome before his fights against either Cotto or Clottey.
So while Margarito could be a tougher opponent that he is being given credit for, purely because of his size and weight advantages, don't expect to see any of Pacquiao's supposed training issues on display in November. And don't expect to see Pacquiao hang up his gloves any time soon either.
Cliff Thorne, Pitt: "Pacquiao says he's retiring before every fight, but he needs to keep fighting to stay popular especially if he wants to get further in politics"
Harry Reynald, Akron: "They have to sell the fight somehow, and Margarito's last two fights aren't going to sell a million pay per views"
Source: Examiner.com
