Manny Pacquiao: ‘You have to think about the life span of your body’

Manny Pacquiao’s words echoed done an bare T-Mobile Arena precocious Saturday.

“When our lives are finished wrong this world, we tin instrumentality nothing,” helium said. “In this sport, this is my passion, this is wherefore I’m inactive here, support connected warring astatine the property of 42. I’m enjoying it, but sometimes you person to deliberation astir the beingness span of your body.”

Pacquiao was sitting astatine the postfight quality conference, close astatine the borderline of the ringing helium had shared with Yordenis Ugas a fewer hours earlier. Ugas, a 35-year-old Cuban who took the combat connected abbreviated notice, had conscionable beaten the Filipino legislator by unanimous decision.

With the adrenaline of Pacquiao’s ringing locomotion and instauration each but faded, the questions rapidly turned to a antithetic topic: Was that it? Was that the past clip the legendary eight-division champion would measurement into the ring?

Pacquiao didn’t reply 1 mode oregon another, but his somber code and reflective demeanor suggested that this was astir apt it. He’s mulling a tally for president of his autochthonal Philippines, and, well, he’s done everything a boxer could perchance bash successful a 26-year nonrecreational career.

He was slowly, methodically passing the torch to the adjacent generation. The opposite, almost, of the mode helium violently snatched it from Oscar De La Hoya successful his ain star-making show 13 years ago. If this truly was his last fight, helium went retired losing to an elite combatant astatine the apical of his game.

Ugas was magnificent, utilizing his size vantage and stiff jab to marque definite the combat took spot connected his terms. Pacquiao’s vintage quickness was determination successful flashes, but helium could ne'er onshore cleanable combinations astatine a precocious capable clip to drawstring unneurotic rounds. Ugas, who had closed arsenic a 3-1 underdog, ne'er fto Pacquiao get connected the inside.

“Pacquiao was a large competitor. I person a batch of respect for him,” Ugas said. “But I won the fight. I’m precise affectional and proud.”

Pacquiao admitted aft the combat that his legs felt stiff, apt the effect of a worn-down, 42-year-old assemblage that is trying to archer him something. He wasn’t adjacent expected to beryllium warring Ugas — that duty had primitively gone to undefeated Errol Spence Jr. earlier a torn retina forced him to propulsion retired of the combat — but agreed to the new, tricky hostile little than 2 weeks earlier the fight.

This mentation of Pacquiao didn’t look rather the aforesaid arsenic the 1 that turned backmost the timepiece with a triumph implicit Keith Thurman successful July 2019. This 1 was inactive the game, resilient, fast-twitch combatant who has battled done knockout losses and bigger opponents his full career. There was conscionable thing missing.

Pacquiao fought 22 times successful Las Vegas, starting with his U.S. debut much than 20 years ago. He headlined against the biggest stars of his generation, electrifying crowds and gathering a planetary instrumentality base. It definite seems arsenic if Saturday was astatine slightest immoderate mentation of his swan song.

If it was, helium leaves the athletics with a 62-8-2 grounds with 39 knockouts.

“I’ve done a batch for boxing, and boxing has done a batch for me,” said the grown-up mentation of the 16-year-old who enactment weights successful his pockets to marque the minimum bounds for his pro debut.

It was rather the understatement.

Contact Jonah Dylan astatine jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan connected Twitter.